Enchanted Warriors
by Twilit Phoenix
Summary: A friend, a niece, two daughters, and one with the blood of the enemy flowing through her veins. Do they stand a chance at being the new guardians? ... Somewhat, maybe not so much, of a sequel to my story Season 3, the Battle with Rokador...
1. Arc I A son and two daughters

Title---

**I do not own W.I.T.C.H.** But I kinda wish I did…

This is my new story, it's a second generation story for _Witch_. I used the pairings from the cartoon so I wouldn't have to make up new people… I hope everyone enjoys the story, it's sort of a sequel, but it can be understood without reading (**Season Three, the Battle with Rokador**) though I do recommend reading that one first. I tried not to make it a-boring-each-girl-has-a-daughter-and-she-takes-her-mother's-place-as-a-guardian. I've put up links to each of the girl's pictures on my profile. Their names really do spell something, as one of the girls finds out… Just wait and see, I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

**Chapter ****1) **_**A Son and two Daughters **_(_eight years before the story__ truly begins_)

A lone messenger traveled through the halls of the castle in the red world. The moon was full that night, illuminating the shadow filled hallways. The messenger pulled back an ancient tapestry; clutching the message, he climbed the three stories of stairs, not daring to use his wings to aid him. He came to a short hallway; only three doors lined the passage. Careful not to wake the sleeping occupants of the first room, the man silently knocked on the last door.

"Come in," came a rough answer. The messenger complied, entering the room and bowing before the man in front of him.

"What have you brought?" asked the shadowed figure. His wings were fanned out, blocking the moonlight from entering the room through the large window behind him.

"News from the battlefront," replied the messenger, "from your brother, King Faris..." The king's brother took the note from the messenger and ripped it open. Glancing over the scribbled handwriting, he let out a gasp.

"Sir, may I ask what's wrong?" asked the messenger.

"The King, my brother…" stuttered the man, "King Faris is dead." The messenger was shocked; he had never before heard such bad news in his life. The death of the king was a terribly sad occurrence.

"He was killed in the air, brought down by arrow fire, flaming, arrow fire," read the man, "send for the royal scribe, I need for him to write up some things for me."

"Yes sir," replied the messenger. Once the message deliverer left the room, Faris' brother opened the door and walked down the hall. He pondered for a moment on his brother's death as he stood outside the first door in the hall.

Eight years ago, his brother had returned from his imprisonment in Candracar from the guardians. Faris had told him the council there had let him off for good behavior and they had found him not completely guilty of the crimes he had been locked up for. They had said he was simply misled at what the sorceress Nerissa had gotten him into. Yet he never forgot that those girls had dishonored him.

After he returned to his palace, he was crowned king and married. That same year his son, Onofire was born; his name meant warrior. Faris had appointed him, his brother, to look after Rokador and his family while he was off on his campaigns to bring more worlds under his control. He returned after two years with the world of Layberiá successfully under his power. He had gone there without hostile intentions, so the guardians on Earth never knew; he had used diplomacy to bring the world under heel. The new colonies he had planted there were flourishing and sending a steady supply of new resources back to Rokador. His daughter, Mayista, was born the year after. After her birth, Faris' wife past away. Faris left for another campaign, his wife's death seeming to spark a new passion for an old desire in him.

The man had watched after his brother's kingdom for seven years while he was off fighting. Faris had returned home every now and then to see his two children and brother, but he would depart after only a day or two. Fingering the note, the man pushed open the wooden door. The silken curtains did little to stop the filtering moonbeams from entering the room. The man watched as his seven-year-old niece and ten-year-old nephew slept peacefully in their beds. He walked over to Onofire's bed, shaking the young prince from his dreams.

"Onofire, wake up," whispered the man. The boy opened his gold eyes and saw his uncle before him.

"Uncle Khalon? What is it? Is father home again?" asked the boy, excitement in his eyes.

"I'm sorry Onofire, but your father won't be returning," sighed Khalon.

"Why not?" asked the boy.

"He's been killed," said Khalon bluntly.

"No," cried Onofire, tears filling his eyes, "uncle, he can't, no, father's not dead!"

"Shh my boy," comforted Khalon, "your father died with honor, in battle, for a cause he believed in."

"One we will finish, right?" asked Onofire, "for my father."

"Yes my young prince, and until you are eighteen, you will rule at my side," Khalon explained, "helping, planning, and working with me to avenge your father's death. To punish those who brought this pain on him. Earth, will be ours." A clam wind blew into the room, ruffling the Rokadorians' feathers. The razor edged feathers on their wings glittered in the moonlight as Khalon handed his nephew the letter the messenger has given to him.

"Get some sleep Onofire," said Khalon, "you'll have to tell your sister in the morning."

"Good night uncle," Onofire whispered. Khalon left the room, shutting the door behind him. He would avenge his brother's death. Only he knew the true reason why Faris had gone out to world of Korayol. He had gone to seek wisdom on how to defeat those girls on Earth from that magical pool. But he needed to bring the mer-people under his control because he wanted to be sure he could interpret the mirror of water correctly this time.

"Earth and its guardians will fall," smiled Khalon to himself.

**--- ---**

"Jaden, slow down!" called Kyra.

"Come on Kyra, hurry up!" laughed Jaden. The young eight-year-old blond giggled as she hid behind one of the palace's pink rosebushes. The thin foliage of the shrub offered little camouflage for the hiding girl, and her friend soon found her. The sun had begun to set in the Meridian sky, putting Kyra on edge.

"Jaden, I have to go," she sighed, "you know my mom gets worried when I'm out after dark."

"Queen Elyon shouldn't worry," Jaden sighed, "she knows when you're with me, we never get into _too_ much trouble."

"What about the time we snuck into the Mumurboarding mountains without paying?" questioned Kyra.

"Well-"

"Or the time we tried to ride the Wou-Gongs, and I broke my leg?" asked Kyra.

"That was-"

"Or the time when you-"

"Ok, I get it," laughed Jaden.

"Why don't we watch the jousting tournament _tomorrow_?" offered Kyra, heading towards the front gate of the castle.

"Watching is so boring. It's more fun to actually be in the joust," Jaden said.

"My mom would never let me," sighed Kyra.

"Neither would mine," agreed Jaden, "that's why I'd ask my dad." The two girls giggled and walked into the palace. Elyon stood in the inside the front door, waiting.

"See Elyon, I told you they were together in the garden," smiled Jaden's mother.

"You're right Cornelia," sighed Elyon. The Queen looked at her daughter, wondering how she would take the news Cornelia was about to announce.

"Mom?" asked Jaden, her green eyes sparkling, "can Kyra and I go watch the jousts tomorrow?"

"Jaden," sighed Cornelia, "you can't."

"Why not?" questioned both Kyra and Jaden.

"You won't be here tomorrow," Cornelia said.

"Where will I be?" asked Jaden.

"On Earth, we're moving," Cornelia stated.

"Mom!" Jaden exclaimed.

"Your father and I decided it would be best to continue your schooling where Elyon and I did," Cornelia explained.

"Where would we live mom?" asked Jaden, hoping to find a flaw in her mother's plan. She had no intention of leaving her birth place, Meridian.

"Elyon has offered your father and I the house she lived in on Earth," Cornelia explained, "now come, we're leaving in the morning." Jaden felt tears run down her face as she grabbed Kyra in a tight hug.

"Bye," cried Kyra. The two girls parted and Jaden followed her mother to their quaint, little home. Pulling her hand out of her mother's grip, Jaden rushed into the house, slamming the front door after running through Cornelia's flowers. Cornelia sighed and held out her hand to the crushed plants. They happily grew back instantly, leaving Cornelia content.

"Did you tell her?" asked a voice from the doorway.

"Yes," sighed Cornelia. She looked up at her husband, smiling.

"Don't worry, we'll come back for summers," Caleb smiled.

"You're taking this move awfully well," said Cornelia, raising an eyebrow.

"I guess it comes with the territory of being a parent. I want the best for our daughter," Caleb replied.

"Well, our daughter is mad at me. She's probably sitting on the roof, hiding from me," sighed Cornelia.

"I think I can fix that," smiled Caleb. He left his wife with a peck on the cheek and walked inside. Caleb made his way to his daughter's room and found Cornelia to be correct.

"Your mother said you'd be on the roof," Caleb said, climbing over the thatched roof and taking a seat next to Jaden.

"Do we have to move?" questioned Jaden, her eyes pleading.

"Yes," Caleb said firmly, his voice softened, "why don't I tell you a story about your mother and me, it might cheer you up."

"Ok," smiled Jaden. She loved it when her father told her stories. Most of them were about the adventures of her parents, and some even had their friends in them.

"So, a while back, when your mother still lived on Earth and was just about your age, we got into a fight over a matter similar to the one you're facing now," Caleb explained. Jaden sighed, it didn't sound like one of the guardian stories her father sometimes told her. She loved those bedtime stories the best, but she knew that they were more than just stories. Her mother Cornelia, and her friends Irma, Will, Taranee, and Hay Lin had been guardians to protect the veil, whatever that was. When her mother wasn't around, Jaden would convince Kyra to play guardians with her. She was always the earth guardian, and Kyra would pretend to be the guardian of air. The girls would spend hours in the royal gardens, fighting imaginary enemies.

Jaden listened to her father tell her the story, wondering how she would ever make new friends on Earth. She stared out at the sky, watching the sun sink below the trees.

"Jaden?" asked Caleb.

"Yes daddy," replied the young girl. Caleb's green eyes met his daughter's; she had inherited his eyes as well as his thirst for adventure.

"You'd better start packing," he said, climbing back through her window.

"Ok," the girl sighed.

**--- **

The next day, Queen Elyon stopped at their house to open a fold to Earth. Jaden stopped sulking long enough to watch Elyon wave her hand over a spot in the air and make a glittering blue fold appear.

"I haven't seen one of these since Will made us one to go to Meridian through," smiled Cornelia.

"Well, just imagine how long it's been since I've made one," laughed Elyon. The Queen of Meridian and the guardian of Earth hugged before Cornelia grabbed Jaden's hand and pulled her through the fold. Caleb grabbed a box of items to be moved and pushed it through the fold. When everything was through the fold, he bid farewell to the Queen and walked through the fold to join his wife and daughter on Earth. Elyon watched the glittering blue fold vanish, sighing; she wondered when she would see them again.

**--- **

Jaden looked up at the old-style, four story house on the lot in front of her. The glittering fold she had heard so much about had brought them to the house's backyard in the sunlight. Jaden had been disappointed that it had disappeared so quickly.

"So, where are we again?" asked Jaden, looking around the yard. The pool was half filled with water from the rain and snow of the past ten years.

"This is Earth," smiled Cornelia, "we're in Heatherfield."

"It looks different then I imagined it," frowned Jaden. She looked to the sky and watched a plane fly past; she grabbed the box of her things and carried it inside the house after her mother. Cornelia led Caleb and Jaden into Elyon's old house, she suddenly wondered why no one had ever sold it or knocked it down, but figured it had something to do with Elyon's magic.

The house was horrible dusty, the flecks of it had gathered everywhere: the floor, the tables, the rugs, even in the sink. Jaden wrinkled her nose and sneezed. Cornelia sighed as she looked around.

"No one's been in the house for years," she stated, "there's a lot of work to be done." They got to work soon after. Cornelia found a couple of colored feather dusters and handed them to Jaden. The green eyed girl frowned and began to dust the house, sending the dirt to the floor so her mother could send it outside with a wave of her hand. Jaden finished the first story in record time and started on the stairs. She worked her way through the rooms on the second story, finding her things had been placed on a four poster bed at the room at the end of the hall. The bed was unmade, as if someone had slept in it and jumped out in a hurry. Clothes were strewn on the floor and crumpled papers stood where they landed around a small, waste bin.

Jaden figured this was now her room; she picked up one of the crumpled papers and opened it. She looked at the sketched picture of a tree in a park, it was pretty good. The young blond picked up the papers and placed them in the trash. Frowning at the mess on the floor, Jaden quickly folded all the clothing and stuffed them in the drawers. The room still needed cleaning, but Jaden pushed the thought from her mind. She crawled onto the bed and pulled the covers over her head. Spotting a stuffed animal at the foot of the bed, Jaden grabbed for it, wondering what kind of animal stood upright on two giant long feet with a pouch on its stomach. Cuddling the creature, she fell asleep in Elyon's old bedroom.

**---**

Cornelia brushed the dust and dirt she had collected out the kitchen window. She watched Caleb fix the furniture outside and rearrange it so it looked better kept. Wondering where her daughter was, Cornelia walked up the stairs. She found Jaden asleep in her new room, Elyon's old room. Cornelia decided to let her daughter sleep. She left the room, closing the door. She told Caleb she was going for a walk and left the house.

Cornelia walked down the streets, noticing how much things had changed. New stores had opened where others had been before. The store where Hay Lin and Irma and found her sixtenth birthday present was still up and running though. Cornelia smiled when she saw what she was looking for. The bank and post office were still at the same corner as she remembered. She walked into the post office and requested a phone book for the town. She leafed through the book, searching for her friends. She didn't know if they even still lived here.

Her finger found Taranee's name first; Taranee Cook the book said. The book said she lived in the heart of the city, Cornelia wondered why she had not gotten married. She next found Irma in the book under Lair. She lived on the opposite side of the town from where Cornelia was now. Cornelia smiled when she saw the next name she knew, Hay (Lin) Lyndon. She had always thought Eric and Hay Lin had been a cute couple. According to the phone book, they were living in Hay Lin's old house above the Silver Dragon. Will's name appeared last, under Olson. Her residency shocked Cornelia, it was a block north of where Elyon's house was, where the mansions of Heatherfield were located. Taking the book with her, Cornelia walked back to her new, old house.

**--- **

Jaden awoke the next morning refreshed. She looked and around and for a moment forgot she wasn't back in her house on Meridian. She felt fresh tears begin to gather behind her emerald eyes, but took a deep breath and pushed them away, she could do this. Looking herself in the mirror, she brushed and braided her long golden hair. Jaden walked down the stairs and found her mother in the kitchen.

"Good morning Jaden," smiled Cornelia, "would you like to go for a walk with me?"

"Ok," sighed Jaden. Cornelia walked her daughter to the front door and led her down the street. A truck drove past on the road and Jaden jumped in fright.

"What was that!" exclaimed Jaden.

"Don't worry Jaden, the trucks stay on the roads," Cornelia said to comfort her daughter. Jaden nodded in understanding and gazed at all the fancy houses as they walked further north. They walked past a block of houses until Cornelia stopped at an exceptionally large one.

"Here we are," smiled Cornelia.

"Who lives here?" asked Jaden. She looked at the landscaping and saw a sparrow fly into one of the rosebushes.

"One of my old friends," Cornelia explained, "would you like to ring the bell?" Jaden pressed the button on the wall where her mother pointed. The chimes echoed inside the house, singing a song as they waited for someone to answer the door. Shadows moved behind the glass and the door swung open. Will stood in the doorway, looking at her visitors.

"Will," smiled Cornelia.

"Cornelia?" asked Will, laughing, "come in, come in." Jaden followed her mother inside the house; she felt her mouth drop when she saw all fancy plants and paintings.

"You're back!" smiled Will, "are you staying?"

"Yeah. I'm so happy to be back on Earth. Caleb and I moved back so Jaden could go to school," Cornelia said, putting her hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"Hello Jaden," smiled Will, she turned to Cornelia, "how old is she, ten?"

"No, she just turned eight," Cornelia replied.

"So she's the same age as Brianna," Will stated, she clarified when Cornelia gave her a confused look, "my daughter." She called up the stairs, "Brianna! Come here!" Footsteps were heard upstairs as a young girl hurried to her mother.

"Yes mom?" asked the blue eyed girl.

"Brianna, this is Jaden. She's one of my friend's daughters," said Will, "why don't you two go outside and play."

"Ok," smiled Brianna, "come on!" Brianna grabbed Jaden's hand and pulled her through the kitchen and outside into the backyard. Will watched her go then turned to Cornelia.

"So tell me about your time in Meridian," Will said. They sat down at the kitchen table, glancing out the window to watch the two girls in the yard.

"So?" asked Will.

"So what?" laughed Cornelia, "I moved to Meridian with Caleb after high school, we were married and had Jaden after a few years. Oh, Elyon is a mother as well."

"Really?" asked Will.

"Yeah, she has two boys, Taho and Nedin, and a daughter named Kyra. Jaden and Kyra were really close, it's going to be hard for her to make new friends here," sighed Cornelia.

"Well her and Jaden seem to be getting along perfectly," smiled Will, looking out the window.

"What about you?" asked Cornelia.

"After you left for Meridian, Irma, Taranee, Hay Lin, and I went off to college. After we graduated, Matt and I got married. Brianna was born, and then two years ago Aaron was born. Matt works for the music studio downtown, he's in charge, and is finding some of best bands around. He's great at music, too bad his band broke up," explained Will.

"What about you, what do you do?" asked Cornelia.

"I'm training to become a veterinarian," Will smiled, "I just love animals."

"Even after the _Mel_ incident?" laughed Cornelia.

"Uh, don't bring _her_ up," joked Will. The two mothers looked out the kitchen window and out at their daughters on the swing set.

**---**

"Now push and pull your legs, like this," explained Brianna. She was trying to teach Jaden how to swing. Jaden copied Brianna and swung back and forth. After a few minutes Brianna jumped off the swing and landed on the ground, falling to her knees. Jaden smiled and leaped off as well. She stuck her landing and helped Brianna to her feet.

"So you've never used a swing before?" asked Brianna. Jaden shook her head.

"Instead, I like riding horses and climbing trees and mumur boarding," explained Jaden.

"What's mumur boarding?" asked Brianna.

"You've never been mumur boarding, I used to do that all the time back in Meridian!" Jaden exclaimed.

"Where's Meridian?" questioned Brianna.

"I don't know," replied Jaden, "we just kinda, got here."

"Let's ask my mom, she knows everything!" smiled Brianna. The two girls rushed inside the back door. Jaden tripped over a fuzzy black and white sleeping creature on the way in.

"Watch out for Gizmo, he likes to lick people," laughed Brianna. Jaden petted the border collie on his head and rushed after Will's daughter.

"Mommy?" asked Brianna.

"Yes?" replied Will.

"Where's Meridian?" asked Brianna innocently. Jaden appeared at her side; silence hung in the air, thick enough to cut with a knife.

"It's just a town to the north," lied Will, glancing at Cornelia. Cornelia sighed and pulled her daughter over into her lap. "Brianna, you can go back outside."

"But what about Jaden? We were playing," pouted Brianna.

"It's almost lunch time, Jaden has to go soon," explained Will.

"Ok," sighed Brianna, she hurried outside calling to Gizmo to come with her.

"Is Meridian really to the North? Can we visit Kyra?" asked Jaden, excitement on her face.

"No," sighed Cornelia, "Jaden, you can't tell people you're from Meridian."

"Why?" asked Jaden.

"Because no one on Earth knows it exists," Will answered.

"Oh," Jaden sighed, "so that's why Brianna's never heard of mumur boarding!"

"Cornelia!" Will exclaimed.

"What?" asked Cornelia, "do you expect your daughter to grow up and never know that her mother was a guardian who protected the infinite dimensions?"

"Yes," Will replied, "Cornelia, we're not guardians anymore. Ever since Hay Lin got hurt, the Oracle relieved us of our duties."

"I see," Cornelia replied as she stood up, "I'll see you around Will."

"How about tomorrow?" Will said, standing up as well, "Matt and I are going on a picnic with the music studio. It's in the park, and it's free to go, meet us there ok? I'll bring Brianna."

"Yeah!" smiled Jaden. Cornelia promised to meet her there and walked Jaden back home.

* * *

Did you like it? I had fun writing it. The guardians won't be revealed to each other in the story until a few more chapters. If you want to guess who they are through the story until then, don't look at their pictures on my profile, but if you don't mind knowing then please **check out their pictures on my profile**! 


	2. A Niece and a Friend

**I do not own W.I.T.C.H.** ! (Warning, this chapter has Spanish in it; it should be simple Spanish cause I actually wrote it, it didn't use a translator site, but still. It should be easy to decipher even if you don't know what it says, as I kind of repeat it in English. These characters have to speak in Spanish, it adds to the story.)

-I forgot to mention before that this story is taking place in arcs (or books, like in avatar). This first arc will have eight or nine chapters and I'll go on from there. -

**Check out my profile for the girls' pictures!**

* * *

**Chapter ****2. **_**A Friend and a Niece **_(_two years before the story truly begins_)

The city hummed with life; taxis and buses zoomed through the streets. Down the road in a calmer neighborhood, Christopher Lair hurried around his house. The Mexican sun burned overhead as he rushed outside to make sure the movers didn't break anything. When the truck was full of things, he began his search for his wife and two daughters.

"Linda! Dónde estás?" called Chris, wondering where his wife had disappeared to.

"Está aquí," smiled Linda, appearing from one of the emptied rooms of the house.

"Dónde están las chicas?" asked Chris. He looked around the house for his two daughters, Marisol and Raquel.

"Ellas están con sus amigas en el parque," replied Linda, laughing at her husband's forgetfulness. She was sure both his duaghters had told him they were going to the park.

"El avion va a salir en tres horas. Ellas nesicitas venir hogar," Chris explained, finding the airplane tickets in his wallet and checking his watch. They still had three hours, but Chris was nervous.

The front door opened as Marisol entered the room. Chris smiled as his eldest daughter tapped him on the shoulder.

"Marisol, dónde está su hermana?" asked Chris.

"Con su amiga," replied Marisol before leaving the room to be sure she packed everything. She hated when her father asked her about her sister.

"Raquel," sighed Chris, awaiting her arrival.

---

"Emelia, tú sabes que yo salo hoy," frowned Raquel. Her brown eyes were filled with sadness as she hugged her friend Emily goodbye.

"Prometas escribir?" asked Emelia.

"Sí, yo prometo," Raquel smiled, "yo espero mi tia Irma, en los Estados Unidos, tiene muchos cartas para me usar."

"Adios Raquel!" waved Emelia as Raquel ran home. Her older sister waited on the front step of the house and grinned when she saw her younger sister.

"Está tarde," she said.

"No," replied Raquel, denying the fact that she was, in fact, late. She was nervous about leaving Mexico City. She was not very good in her English class at school. She had never paid attention because she thought she would never need to know how to speak it. Her sister was just as bad, except they had not taught her in middle school. In high school, Marisol avoided foreign language classes like the flu.

Pulling her dark brown hair into a ponytail, Raquel saw the taxi arrive to take them to the airport.

"Papa, Mama!" called Marisol, "El taxi está aqui!" Linda and Chris Lair hurried from the empty house and into the waiting taxi in the street. Marisol, Raquel, and their mother squeezed into the back seat while Chris sat up front. He directed the driver to the airport where they bordered their plane just on time.

The airplane took off a few minutes after they had boarded, heading straight for the United States. Raquel wondered if her father had found a house yet. His boss had informed him, just this week, that the company he worked for had a job opening in America, in the same town he had grown up in as a child. He had to decide on the spot whether to except the promotion and move his family, and he had accepted. Linda had been thrilled her husband had been promoted and did not seem the least bit disappointed that they were moving. Aside from filing the paperwork with the U.S. government in order for Linda, Marisol, and Raquel to move into the country, the plans had been smooth.

She thought about her new life and what it would be like. She imagined her aunt in a nice house in a city similar to Mexico and wondered if Aunt Irma would like her.

**---**

The Lair family got off the plane and searched for a taxi outside. Raquel, Marisol, and their mother Linda were lost in the English world. Where signs advertised products to buy, they saw scribbles. Luckily, every restroom and help desk had instructions and words written in English _and _Spanish.

Chris hailed a taxi and directed the driver to Irma's address. Sandwiched in the center seat in the back of the cab, Raquel hardly enjoyed the ride.

The car stopped after an hour of travel. They had driven out of the airport and through the town of Creek View to get to the city of Heatherfield. They drove through the city, avoiding the traffic on the highway. Marisol marveled at all the people in such a small city.

They got out in front of a small, single level, brick home. Chris helped his wife and daughters out of the taxi and onto the sidewalk after he paid the driver.

"La casa de Tia Irma," announced Chris. He rang the doorbell and smiled when his older sister opened the door.

"Was the plane delayed?" laughed Irma as she grabbed her brother in a hug.

"No, but thanks for letting us stay here for a while the sale goes through," Chris said.

"No problem, stay as long as you need," Irma replied. She saw his family standing outside in the sunlight. "Come in, come in." Linda, Raquel, and Marisol all looked to Chris, he gestured for them to come in.

"Irma," sighed Chris, "My wife Linda, and my daughters, Raquel and Marisol, don't know _any_ English."

"They'll just have to learn," smiled Irma, undaunted by the language gap before her.

"Thanks sis," smiled Chris. Irma shrugged and smiled. She showed Linda and Chris to the guest bedroom and left the two girls in the living room to explore.

"Marisol, sabes tia Irma dice?" asked Raquel, wondering what her aunt and father had been talking about.

"No," shrugged Marisol. Raquel looked away and glanced to Irma's fireplace. Pictures of her and her friends cluttered the space. Raquel saw her aunt standing with four other girls in front of a school holding diplomas, having just graduated high school. Another picture of an irked Irma and a geeky looking boy giving her bunny ears was situated next to the previous one. Raquel felt a smile grace her own lips and turned around to tell her sister something. Finding her sister had left, Raquel instead found her aunt watching her.

"Tienes fotos bellos de tú y tus amigas," said Raquel shyly, referring to Irma's photographs.

"The pictures?" asked Irma, not sure what her niece was saying or how to respond. She gave up and asked her own question, "How old are you Rachel?" Raquel bit her lip and tried to remember her first week of English class.

"I am," Raquel began, but forgot how to say twelve and held up one finger on her right hand and two fingers on her left hand.

"Twelve?" asked Irma, smiling. She was happy to try and help her niece understand her.

"Sí!" smiled Raquel, "twelve." Irma walked over to her niece and gave her a hug, "welcome Raquel."

**---**

For the next three months Irma and Chris worked to assimilate the three non English speaking residents into the routine of Irma's house since the sale had in fact, not gone through. Teh house had been sold to a higher bidder and Chris was stuck trying to find another one.

Even though she still could not completely understand her aunt, Raquel found she was easy to get along with and waited patiently for her responses to her questions. Marisol was bitter with the situation, not wanting to admit she was wrong about not needing English in her life. She refused to speak a word of it to anyone. Raquel picked up the new language faster then she could have ever hoped, at least with the easier words and phrases. Irma spent as much time as she could with Linda in the kitchen, hoping Chris' wife would open up while cooking, and maybe she could learn some Mexican meals from her.

"Tia Irma!" called Raquel. She would have called her in English, but Irma had taken a liking to being called _Tia Irma_. Irma appeared from the kitchen, wearing an apron.

"Yes Raquel?" she smiled.

"The park?" asked Raquel, not sure how to phrase her question.

"You can go, be back for dinner," said Irma, nodding. Raquel smiled and pulled on her sandals. She walked out the front door and skipped to the park. For the past week, Raquel had walked to the park and explored every inch of it. She hoped the boys were playing soccer today; she had enjoyed their game last Saturday. When she came to the park she did not find the boy's soccer team, instead she came across a sport she had never seen before. The girls and boys ran up and down the field with long sticks, throwing and catching a small ball to throw in a net at either end of the field. Frowning, Raquel walked past a blond girl with a braid, watching the game intently.

**---**

Jaden watched the brown haired girl pass by and turned her attention back to the lacrosse game in front of her. She had loved to play a game similar to this back in Meridian, but Elyon had forbid Kyra from playing it because it was too dangerous. The Earth version looked innocent compared to the one she was used to. Seeing the game had come to a pause, she smiled and walked over. The team of girls was gathered in a loose circle, panting hard, leaning against their lacrosse sticks for support. A short girl with red streaks in her brown hair was trying to explain a play to the other girls; they looked to her in confusion.

"Don't any of you get it?" she begged.

"I do," Jaden said as she walked over, "can I play?"

"Tryouts were last week," frowned the short girl, "besides, you think _you_ got game, _blond__e_?"

"More then you," joked Jaden. The girl with red streaked hair raised an eyebrow.

"Ok, dazzle us," she said, grabbing a lacrosse stick from one of the other girls and tossing it to Jaden. Jaden caught it and spun it around like a baton, judging it's weight.

"Let's play," smiled Jaden. The team of girls walked out onto the field to play the boys. Jaden looked to the lacrosse stick, her hands' found their place on it almost immediately.

The ball was passed and Jaden broke free, sprinting up the field to be open for the pass. The girl with the streaked hair rushed through the line of boys and catapulted the ball into the air. Jaden leaped into the air and caught it; turning in midair and racing down the field towards the boy's goal. The goalie tensed. Out of the corner of her eye Jaden saw one of the guys come after her. He crashed into her, hoping she would drop the ball.

Rolling on the ground, Jaden twisted the lacrosse stick in her hands, keeping the ball in the net. The ground seemed to absorb her fall and she sprung back up to continue towards the goal. The short girl felt her mouth drop in surprise as _blonde_ scored a goal on the goalie.

"Do I have enough game to play?" asked Jaden, not sure what the phrase 'got game' meant.

"Yeah," blinked the girl, "and you would be?"

"Jaden," replied the green eyed girl.

"Cool name," replied the girl with red streaked hair.

"Thanks," she smiled, "who are you?"

"Alexis," called the short girl, "go long!" Jaden smiled and got back to the game. The boys did not seem to understand that Jaden did not stay down. She was tackled and tripped twice as many times as the other girls on the team, yet at the end of the game she only had a few scratches. The other girls suffered more serious injuries, from cuts to a sprained ankle. Jaden did not understand it; the ground just seemed to absorb her falls and sprung her back up, ready to keep playing.

When the game was over, Jaden gave the lacrosse stick back to the girl she had borrowed it from and turned to Alexis. The girl was playing with her cell phone on the bench waiting, watching the parking lot.

"Waiting for someone?" asked Jaden.

"My mom," she said, "she just called and told me she'd be late."

"You can wait at my house, it's just a block down that way," Jaden offered.

"Cool," smiled Alexis. On the walk the Jaden's house, the blonde learned she was now officially part of the girl's lacrosse club. It was for girls to practice the sport until the school lacrosse season started. The boys had their own league as well, they had just played them. Jaden walked up the front steps to her house and opened the door. Her mother had left it open for her.

"This is your house?" asked Alexis, looking around, "What's with all the balloons?"

"It was my birthday yesterday," Jaden replied, "I just turned thirteen."

"I'll be fourteen next month, when school starts," Alexis announced.

"I wonder if I'll start school this year," Jaden said aloud. Her parents had moved here so she could get a better education, yet she had yet to go to a real school. At first her parents had kept her home because she needed to get used to Earth, but now she felt that they just did not want to let her go.

"Are you homeschooled?" asked Alexis, looking at the pictures on the book case.

"Yeah, my mom and one of her friends teach me," Jaden replied.

"Who's this?" asked Alexis, pointing to a picture of a seven-year-old Jaden sitting on a fountain with another girl.

"That's me and Kyra," replied Jaden, "we're at her _house_."

"She must be loaded," Alexis gasped, looking at the picture.

"You could say that," replied Jaden. She had picked up some of the slang the other children at the park used. The back door opened and Cornelia and Caleb walked inside.

"Hey Mom, Dad," Jaden said, walking into the kitchen, "I joined the lacrosse league at the park."

"Lacrosse?" asked Caleb.

"Dad, the game with the ball and the sticks, the one Kyra couldn't play because it was too violent," explained Jaden, avoiding the fact that it wasn't called lacrosse in Meridian.

"Oh," smiled Caleb, "that game."

"Your daughter's really good," complimented Alexis.

"Thank you, and who would you be?" smiled Cornelia.

"Oh, Mom, Dad, this is Alexis," Jaden announced, "she's a friend."

* * *

How is it so far? This chapter was shorter than the first, but it was just because we get to the real story next chapter… Yeah! Read and Review! It might seem like the story focuses on Jaden, but it's only because she's the glue that puts the group together at first, you'll see. **Check out the new pictures!**


	3. The Blood of the Enemy

**I do not own W.I.T.C.H.** I only own my five girls who will be the new guardians and my villains of Rokador… Go Rokador!

* * *

**Chapter ****3) **_**The**__** blood of the enemy **_(_The story begins_)

Jaden walked home shouldering her lacrosse stick and turned to listen to what Alexis was saying. Alexis, Jaden, and Sophia, the lacrosse team's three best players walked to Jaden's house after practice. They had just beaten the boys with the final score ending at four to seven, girl's win.

The three girls climbed up the front steps and entered the house. Sophia and Alexis had become regulars at the Hale household for the last two years. Cornelia saw them walk in and called to her daughter.

"Jaden, I'm expecting a package while I'm out shopping so answer the door ok?" Cornelia said.

"Ok Mom," replied Jaden, crunching into an apple from the fruit basket. The front door shut as her mother left, leaving the three girls home alone.

"I can't wait for school this year," smiled Sophia, "I'm finally an upperclassman!"

"Don't rub it in," sighed Alexis.

"Just because you were held back last year, doesn't mean you can take it out on me," laughed Sophia, "You _are_ coming to high school this year, right Jaden?"

"You missed freshman year, but now you're a sophomore, so it's better," Alexis explained.

"We preregistered for school this year so another mishap like what happened last year can't happen again," sighed Jaden. She had been looking forward to going to school with the other kids, but her parents had been busy and missed the date to register for the school. This year she would be starting school as a sophomore with Alexis at Sheffield Institute.

"And you'll get to meet my boyfriend Mike," Alexis smiled, "he's a senior this year." The doorbell rang and Jaden jumped up to get it. Brianna smiled at Jaden when she opened the door.

"Hi Jade," she said.

"Hey Bri," replied Jaden. Alexis and Sophia appeared behind Jaden to see who it was. When they saw Brianna, they frowned and rolled their eyes.

"Do you want to come in?" asked Jaden, taking the box from Brianna. The blue eyed redhead took one look at Jaden's friends and declined.

"No thanks, I have to babysit my brother Aaron," lied Brianna.

"Good luck," replied Jaden, knowing what a handful of trouble Brianna's nine-year-old brother was. She shut the door and put the box on the table.

"Why would _she_ deliver a package for your mom?" asked Sophia, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"My mom and her mom are friends," Jaden replied, opening the cardboard box in front of her. The three girls peered inside and frowned; it was only a photo album and a covered painting. "Bri's really nice."

"Wait till you see her at school," explained Alexis, "she's a spoilt brat." The two girls glanced at the clock and said their goodbyes to Jaden. She helped them gather their lacrosse equipment and opened the door for them. Jaden watched them disappear as they walked down the block and turned the corner. She closed the box Brianna had delivered for her mom and walked out the back door. She knew her mother would stop off at Will's house after she finished her shopping, and her father was off working.

She walked outside into her backyard and looked into the pool. She had spent the first week with her father when they first moved here cleaning it. Now, the water sparkled in the sunlight, free of leaves and dirt. She had never seen a pool in Meridian, and had never learned how to how swim either. There were no oceans or lakes near the castle, unless you wanted to swim in the moat.

Jaden opened the back gate and left the yard, taking the shortcut to the park through her neighbor's yards. She spent most of her free time there, swinging back and forth on the swings or climbing the many trees boarding the park. Today, she climbed to the roof over the top of the slide and looked out over the park. The plastic slide was a long spiral, the roof a triangular pyramid with a flattened top. From her perch, Jaden watched six boys play basketball on the courts, shooting hoops.

An unfamiliar figure drew her attention away from the boys. The pale girl pulled her cloak over her over shoulders as she walked down the path. Jaden watched as she took a seat on the park bench and pulled off her cloak slightly. The girl's china doll skin made her ebony hair even darker as it flowed down past her shoulders and piled onto the bench next to her. What shocked Jaden the most was what appeared under the tattered cloak.

Jumping to the ground below from the top of the roof, Jaden made her way over to the girl. The small girl on the bench did not notice Jaden approach and pulled the cloak further off her shoulders, confirming to Jaden that she had been correct; this girl did have wings. The wind ruffled the girl's snow, white feathers as she pulled one of her wings out in front of herself to examine it. She looked up and saw Jaden standing over her, watching.

"Are you going to laugh as well?" questioned the girl, dried tear stains on her face.

"No," Jaden frowned, "why would I laugh? I think your wings are cool."

"All the other wingless people here keep laughing and whispering and pointing at me," the girl explained, "so I put on my cloak and ran. But I think I might have hurt myself when I was escaping."

"I know, I'll bring you to my mom, she'll know what to do," Jaden smiled. She grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her down the path. The young girl's long, black hair floated in the air behind her as she ran to keep up with Jaden, pulling the cloak over her white wings. The two girls hurried out of the park and past Jaden's house. She knew her mother had not returned yet, so she pulled the winged girl to the place she knew her mother would be, Will's house.

Jaden pressed the doorbell and waited until Will answered the door. Will smiled down at Cornelia's daughter and welcomed her and the other girl inside. Jaden pulled the pale girl into the kitchen where her mother was sitting, waiting for Will to return.

"Mom," Jaden said, waiting for her mother to look up, "I met this girl in the park, she has wings. Show them." The girl looked to both mothers and back to Jaden, worry written in plain sight on her face. Slowly, the girl removed part of her cloak and showed them her wings. As quickly as she did, both Will and Cornelia were suddenly on edge.

"She's from Rokador," Will stated. The young girl sharply inhaled as she looked to Will. She wondered how this lady from this world knew about Rokador. The king had sealed off the world for the last twelve years at least, no one was allowed in or out. They would have had to know about the world before then. "Put your cape back on, hurry." The girl did as she was told and watched the redhead as she looked up the stairs.

"Cornelia, what are we going to do? She can't stay here, Brianna and Aaron can't know," Will explained.

"She can stay at our house Mom," Jaden offered.

"Ok," Cornelia sighed, "then we can get to the bottom of this." The winged girl followed Jaden and her mother out of Will's house and down the street. Never before had she been so far away from home, if she could even call her birth world home anymore. She walked into the old, four story house and looked around. The front room was as large as her home in Rokador had been.

"I didn't catch your name," Cornelia stated. The girl pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders and replied,

"My name is Ulani. Can I lay down? I'm really tired."

"Sure, follow me Ulani," smiled Cornelia. She walked the young girl up the stairs and onto the third story where the extra room was.

"Thank you," smiled Ulani. Cornelia shut the door and left Ulani alone in the bedroom. The young, thirteen-year-old girl opened the curtains and looked at herself in the floor length mirror near the door. Her grey eyes were tinted pink from her crying; she could see tearstains on the sides of her cheeks. Slipping off her shoes and cloak, Ulani snuggled into the bed and closed her eyes. She folded her ivory colored wings against her body, wincing as she pulled her left one tighter around herself. Her hair cascaded down her face in ebony rivers as her eyes closed and she drifted off to sleep.

_Ulani hurried __down the road to the library. If__ she ran a little faster she might not miss the free tea the librarians gave out at noon. A seven-year-old Ulani pushed open the library door. The repository of books was located in the castle; the king had decided to open his privet library to the public, it was on the ground level of the castle and easy to access._

_Entering the large room, an old librarian smiled at Ulani. The old women handed the girl a small, porcelain cup filled with tea. Ulani gave her a thankful smile and took a seat at one of the wooden tables. She pulled a book from a nearby shelf and glanced to the title, Rokadorian history. Smiling, she leafed through the book, finding the page she had left off at yesterday__. She sipped the lukewarm water flavored with weak tealeaves. The librarians here knew her better than any other member of the town; she stopped in so often. _

_Because of the shortage of books and scrolls that were actual stories, Ulani had had to progress onto harder reading material to pass her time. Ignoring her growling stomach, the wingless girl immersed her mind in the history book. She preferred to study languages, but she had reached the peak of her knowledge without a real teacher._

_Rubbing her back against the chair, Ulani sighed and wondered when her wings would finally grow in. The other children living near her had all grown their wings at six. At first they had been a pale white, but within a few days they had darkened to grays and blacks. Her mother had told her not to worry, but Ulani had read up on the subject, trying to find out a way to jumpstart their growth, yet she had found none._

_Flipping the page in__ the book, Ulani wondered how much time had elapsed. She loved spending time__ in the library; the people there were smart and happy. They knew about things Ulani had never heard of, and told great stories about times before the world had been sealed off. Ulani did not understand the king's reasoning for isolating their world from all the others; nothing was allowed in and nothing could be sent out. One man in the library had explained to her that it wa__s for the world's protection. H__e told her about the world's previous king, King Faris, and about his conquests leading up to his death. The old king's brother apparently wanted to have a reason to stay safe._

_Reading further into the history book, Ulani came across a more modern chunk of writing; it referred to the economy and structure of the world of Rokador. She was shocked to find that her own world had been based on a system of wars and conquests to thrive and even survive. It made sense to her that Rokador__ was falling into disrepair now;__ they had not fought for at least seven years with anyone. _

_Pushing __the__ history book aside, Ulani returned her empty teacup to the old women. She received a warm smile and walked out of the cool building. _Ulani stirred in her sleep, her hands clenched around imaginary blankets as she hid her wings in her dream. She heard her mother speaking to her and then silence. A tear escaped from one of her gray eyes and rolled down her cheek onto the bed. Her heart rate quickened as her mind relived the moment in her dream.

_Ulani glanced around the market, pulling a tattered cloak over her shoulders, shielding her wings from her own neighbors. The sun shined down on her from the sky above, the summer had been unbearable.__ Darting into the shadows, Ulani tried to avoid being seen by two of the king's soldiers. The __failing food supply had dwindled to almost nothing and people all over Rokador had started to rise up and question the king's reasoning. He had sent out the army to suppress the growing unease and to douse the sparks of revolt among the people. Having a close call with the soldiers, Ulani did not want to be seen again by them. Her still white wings drew attention far too easily, making it able for anyone to pick her out of a crowd.__ Even though they had grown in when she had turned nine, they had remained powder white for the last three years. _

_One of the soldiers turned to look in her direction and saw a flash of white from the foot of her cloak. Panic overtook the girl; a simple mission to return a book to her favorite place in the world, the library, had turned into a quest to escape from the soldiers. They had been cracking down on the rules to enforce the law, and she had violated more the one on multiple occasions. Ulani gathered her cloak in her hands and ran. The soldiers followed her__, pushing past other people to chase the young, seemingly innocent girl. They gained on her quickly, soon with__in__ feet of catching her. Fear raced her mind; she only had one choice, the one that would probably get her killed. _

_Opening her white wings and throwing off her clock, Ulani took off and flew into the sky. Aside from knowing how to read, Ulani's ability to fly was__ what__ set her apart from not only her neighbors but every person living in Rokador. The art of flying had been outlawed after the king's death, and Ulani only knew she could because she had broken the law to practice. She could not help it; flying felt so natural, being in the sky was like living in a second home to her. _

_Breathing heavily, she watched the soldiers follow her on the ground. She felt the wind take her black hair and rush through it. She was running out of town, beyond her was a large field that she would have to fly across without landing, but she knew she would not make the whole distance. A sparkling, blue vortex suddenly appeared next to Ulani. She had seen one in her book, the one that was still inside her cloak, but she did not know what it was because the author had not explained it. Taking her chances, Ulani flew through it and disappeared from the soldiers' view in her home world._

Sitting up in bed, Ulani knew what happened next. She had found the blond, wingless girl and met the girl's mother and another lady. As she sat in the bed on the third story of the house, Ulani sighed. She pulled her cloak over to the bed and found the pocket in which she had placed her borrowed book. She flipped to the page where she had seen the blue, floating oval. The whole book had illustrations of battle scenes drawn by many artists who had interviewed surviving soldiers of the battles. It was the most current book the library had, even covering the battle where King Faris had lost his life. The vertex came alive in her mind's eye as she looked at the rendering on the paper.

Ulani set the book open on the dresser and walked out of the room to find the other members of the house. The window inched open slightly as the wind outside blew a strong gust at the house. The breeze caught the book's pages and turned three or four of them over. They landed at a battle that Ulani had skipped over, one in a misty, white world. The illustration contained the past king, flying into battle against five girls, just years older than her.

Ulani walked down the stairs and inched towards the kitchen. She heard voices conversing; she recognized one of them; it belonged to the blond girl's mother. Ulani frowned and listened to what they were saying as she glanced at the pictures on the book case. Suddenly, the girl with green eyes walked down the stairs and saw her. Ulani smiled and straightened up, trying to appear as though she had not just been eavesdropping. It had not worked.

"What are they talking about?" asked the girl. She did not seem to care that Ulani had been listening in on her parents' conversation.

"Me," replied Ulani.

"So, your name's Ulani, right?" asked the girl, "I'm Jaden."

"Jaden," repeated Ulani, forming the name on her tongue; it had an unusual ring to it. Cornelia walked into the living room with Caleb trailing her, seeing the two girls at once.

"Do you feel better Ulani?" asked Cornelia.

"Yes," replied the young girl, "I know you were talking about me. If you want me to leave, I can."

"No," Cornelia stated, "we just wondered why, and how, you arrived here." Ulani stayed silent for a moment.

"I don't really know how I got here," she replied, "I was escaping."

"Why?!" asked Jaden, "from who?"

"The army," responded Ulani, "I don't fit in, and they were looking for me."

"How?" questioned Cornelia.

"Her wings are different," Caleb explained, "Cornelia, remember how everyone we met in Rokador had darker wings?"

"So why would they care if she has white ones?" asked Cornelia. Her hands found their favorite resting place at her hips as she spoke with Caleb.

"The people in that world loved perfection, at least Faris did," Caleb said, "her wings set her apart too much from everyone else."

"You knew King Faris?" asked Ulani. She did not understand how they knew about her world. Supposedly, no one had been to Rokador and returned back to their own world unharmed; yet both of Jaden's parents knew that it not only existed, but also about the people there and the world's old king as well.

"It was a long time ago," sighed Cornelia.

**---**

Jaden brushed her golden hair after she stepped out of the shower. Changing into her pajamas, she braided her wet hair into a sloppy, French braid and yawned. Jaden looked around her room. Her clothes were set out for the next day, ready for her first day of high school. Alexis would arrive in the morning to accompany her to Sheffield Institute, showing her the way to walk. Upstairs, Jaden heard the floor creak. She wondered what the winged girl was doing.

Quietly opening her door, Jaden crept down the hall, past her parent's bedroom, and up the stairs onto the third level. The window at the end of the hall was wide open, allowing the late summer breeze entrance. Jaden walked over to the window and looked out. She saw a flash of white disappear across the roof and around the corner. Jaden slipped out the window and onto the shingled roof. The wind blew stronger, sending Jaden's wet braid whipping into the air. She sprung across the roof of her house like cat, gracefully climbing up to the attic balcony to search for Ulani.

The winged girl was gone. Jaden scanned the roof but could not find her small form. She frowned and took a seat on the tiled balcony. The moon glowed bright overhead as the clouds revealed its full face. Jaden looked to the sky and felt her mouth drop in surprise. Soaring overhead like a bird was the Rokadorian girl. Her white wings caught the moonlight and shimmered. Jaden watched her dive and spiral, not needing to flap her enormous wings more than a few times to gain much height. Ulani flew over to the roof and landed, the wind spiraling around her as she flapped her wings to land steadily.

"Wow," muttered Jaden, "you're so good at flying."

"That's probably why they were searching for me," Ulani replied.

"Why?" asked Jaden.

"The king outlawed the art of flying," Ulani explained, "I broke a lot of rules to learn."

"But why would you have wings if you can't use them?" Jaden asked, "what's the point?"

"I don't know. King Khalon announced that his brother was killed while flying, so to keep us safe, none of us could fly either," Ulani scowled.

"That's stupid," frowned Jaden. Ulani nodded.

"I just couldn't run from my desire to fly," Ulani explained, "my neighbors never felt the same way I did. I love the feeling of being in the air, seeing everything from above."

"I wish I had wings," Jaden smiled, imagining herself flying high above the earth and watching all her friends on the ground.

---

Alexis shouldered her backpack as she walked to school with Jaden. The two girls were just a block from Sheffield; Alexis felt Jaden's anxiousness as they neared the school. She would have tried to comfort her, but she could not think of anything positive about school to mention. Alexis slid her backpack onto her other shoulder and led the way up to the school. She waved to some of the other girls on the lacrosse league as she walked past. They stopped under a tree and Alexis pulled out her schedule.

"Let's see what classes we have this year," Alexis sighed. Jaden pulled out her schedule and held it up to Alexis'.

"Wow!" smiled Alexis, "we have first period chemistry, fifth period gym, _and_ six period lunch together!" The bell rang, allowing the students entrance to the building. Alexis walked Jaden to her locker, showing her how to work the combination lock on the front.

"Now, I had chemistry with Mrs. Dybric last year," Alexis explained as the two girls walked to class, "we'll do a lab today about magnesium or something, trying to find the point at which it sparks." The two girls walked into the chemistry room. They found a lab table and sat down, waiting for the rest of the class to file in. When the final bell rang, the chemistry teacher, Mrs. Dybric, walked in the door. She passed Alexis and sighed, looking to her attendance list.

"Are we planning on breaking the school's record for most consecutive days breaking the dress code Alexis?" she asked. Jaden looked at her friend's outfit; it was defiantly in violation of the dress code from the school. The fire engine red, strapless top ended above her bellybutton, exposing her midriff. Her black skirt was far above her mid thigh, too short to even be argued for.

"Yep," smiled Alexis, "counting last year, I only need thirty six more days to beat the record." The other members of the class broke into laughter. Alexis pushed her streaked hair behind her ears and smiled. Aside from annoying the popular students in the school, Alexis loved making people laugh.

"Class, settle down!" called Mrs. Dybric, "I know today is the first day of school, but we will be completing a small lab about magnesium."

"See, told ya," Alexis grinned. She let Jaden read the directions on the board and get the supplies.

"Put the strip of magnesium in the crucible and turn on the Bunsen burner with a small flame," Jaden read. Alexis watched her fold the metal into the small pot and suspend it over the Bunsen burner. Placing her fingers to the knob, Alexis turned on the gas and rotated the wheel slightly to the right. The flame exploded out of the burner and melted most of the metal.

"Alexis!" snapped Mrs. Dybric, "turn down that flame or you'll get a detention. Alexis turned the knob all the way to the left, at the position 'off', yet the flame burned steadily.

"I'm trying," said Alexis, panic in her voice.

"I got it," Jaden muttered. She reached over and put out the flame by turning off the gas. Alexis exhaled a sigh of relief and noticed she had, in fact, turned off the Bunsen burner. She wondered what had happened, but shrugged it off when the bell rang a half an hour later.

---

Jaden and Alexis made their way to lunch after their gym period. The two girls walked through the cafeteria, searching for a place to sit after they got their lunches in the lunch line. Jaden spotted Brianna laughing with some girls and a few boys at a circular table.

"Look, there's Bri," smiled Jaden. Alexis pulled her friend over to a table across the lunch room and sighed.

"She's not the same person here Jaden," Alexis explained.

"Why not?" asked Jaden.

"Cause she's cool and you're currently, just the new kid," Alexis said, "but after lacrosse season starts, you'll be a jock. Won't that be fun?"

"I guess," sighed Jaden. The two girls ate their lunch, talking about their classes and about the homework they had already gotten.

After lunch, Alexis walked with Jaden to her locker. As soon as Jaden was finished grabbing her books, a loud shriek echoed throughout the hallway.

"That sounds like Brianna!" exclaimed Jaden, "let's go!" Alexis ran after Jaden, barely keeping pace with her long legged friend. They turned the corner and found Brianna soaked with water that had spewed from a nearby water fountain. The machine was erupting icy water, slowly coating the hallway floor with a slippery layer of liquid. A browned haired girl stared at Brianna with a look of pure shock on her face. Jaden and Alexis hurried over as Brianna shook the water from her arms and turned on the girl.

"You did that on purpose!" she screamed, "this is my favorite shirt and you ruined it!"

"Lo siento," muttered the girl, "I am sorry, es un accidente, lo siento, lo siento!"

"Back off Brianna," Alexis intervened. Jaden helped the other girl away from the scene and away from Alexis and Brianna.

"You have no right to yell at freshmen," snapped Alexis, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she spoke.

"Oh, so I should listen to you? You're so stupid that you got held back, don't speak to me like you're an upperclassmen," Brianna retorted.

"I _am_ older then you," Alexis shouted, her voice filled with ice, "and it's just water, it'll dry, _princess_."

"You think you're better than me?" questioned Brianna. Her blue eyes locked onto Alexis' brown ones, challenging her.Sre she had seen a spark ignite across Alexis' eyes, Jaden left the girl at the side of the hallway and rushed in-between the two girls.

"Stop!" she ordered, "don't fight." Brianna backed off, but Alexis strained against Jaden's hand.

"Yeah, back off, that's right," she shouted at Brianna. The redhead grabbed her things and walked off to class, still dripping with water.

"Alexis," scolded Jaden, "do you _want_ to get into trouble?"

"If it means punching her, why not?" shrugged Alexis, "it'd be worth it."

"Thank you," smiled the girl, approaching Jaden and Alexis.

"No problem," said Alexis, her temper cooling off in an instant, "if she bothers you again, I'll kill her. What's your name?"

"Raquel," replied the girl.

"Rachel, cool," smiled Alexis, "I'm Alexis and this is Jaden." Raquel smiled at the two of them.

"Did you do that?" asked Jaden, pointing to the broken water fountain.

"First day in high school and you already broke school property, nice," smiled Alexis.

"No," Raquel said shaking her head, "Estuvó roto, um, I mean, it is broke." The three girls looked to the water fountain and watched the water flowing down the hallway.

"Come find us at lunch tomorrow," offered Alexis. Raquel nodded and smiled at the two girls in thanks.

---

Ulani opened the door to the room across the hall from the bedroom she was sleeping in. A smiled played across her face as she saw the room was filled with books, a mini library right across the hallway. She blew the dust away from the old volumes. Many of the books were school textbooks, long outdated, yet they held valve to Ulani who had never studied anything outside her own world's culture. Aside from being just short of fluent in ancient Rokadorian and the romantic language of the southern Rokadorian settlements, she had never picked up a book pertaining to anything outside of her world. A middle school, math book caught her eye and she leafed through it, laughing when she saw the ease of the problems.

Downstairs she heard the front door open and Jaden enter. She heard the girl's footsteps walk across the floor and into the kitchen. Ulani wondered how she was able to hear her three stories up, but instead hurried down the stairs to greet the blond girl. Ulani found her at the kitchen table looking over a book.

"What are you reading?" asked Ulani, peering over the book. She discovered it contained math.

"I'm doing homework, my teachers gave me work on the first day without teaching anything, it's so hard," Jaden replied.

"This?" pointed Ulani, "this isn't hard. Geometry is easy. Are you going to learn about Uklayen theorems and seven variable systems as well?"

"What?" asked Jaden, thoroughly confused.

"I studied about them in the library on Rokador," Ulani explained, "if you need help, I know how to solve the problems on that page."

"Thanks Ulani," smiled Jaden.

--- (Insert line) ---

If any of you think that my idea of 'enemy's blood' was anticlimactic, oh well. I thought it was interesting, the world of Rokador's people are truly the enemy in this arc of the story… Do you like the story so far? The next chapter should be exciting… I'll leave it at that. You should know the girls and their elements by now. **Their pictures are**** all**** up on my profile if you haven't seen them**.


	4. A Homecoming Discovery

**I do not own W.I.T.C.H.** I have **another image** of the girls in their dresses on **my profile**. I think it looks cool. If anything, I love their dresses the best.

* * *

**Chapter ****4) **_**A Homecoming Discovery**_

"Mom!" called Brianna, "did my dress come yet?" Will appeared from the living room and found her daughter kicking off her shoes.

"I just got your dress from Hay Lin today," Will answered.

"Thanks mom," smiled Brianna, giving her mother a hug.

"It's on your bed," Will told her daughter. Brianna leaped up the steps two by two and hurried into her bedroom. Lying on her pink bedspread was her homecoming dress. She had endured two months of school, two months of nagging teachers and doing time consuming homework. Finally, the day she had waited for had arrived. Today was the day of the homecoming dance. She had been out with her friends getting her nails done only a half hour before. She had just enough time to change before her date showed up and drove her to the school for the dance.

Slipping into her pink ruffled dress, Brianna zipped up the back and looked at herself in the mirror. The theme this year was 'heaven on earth'. Brianna smiled as she grabbed the small pair of angel wings she had found in the Halloween box in the basement closet. Slipping them over her shoulders, Brianna smiled at herself in the mirror. Something was missing from her attire though, a necklace. Looking through her jewelry box, Brianna searched for a pink or silver pendant to match her pink dress or her silver heels. Finding none that matched, she ran downstairs and catch her mother just as she was walking out the door.

"Mom!" called Brianna.

"Have fun Brianna," Will smiled, "your father and I are going out tonight, you'll probably beat us home." Matt smiled down at his daughter and grabbed Will's hand, pulling her out the door.

"Mom, do you have any silver necklaces?" asked Brianna before the door shut.

"You can borrow whatever you find," called Will, "make sure the babysitter comes for Aaron!"

"Ok mom," sighed Brianna. The front door closed and Brianna hurried up the stairs. She walked into her mother's room and pulled her box of jewelry from her top self in the closet. Brianna pulled out earrings and bracelets, digging deeper to find what she needed. She lifted the top portion of the box away and found the necklaces and pendants underneath.

A sparkle caught her eye under a pile of golden chains. Brianna grabbed the silver chain and removed the round crystal from the box. The pink color of the orb matched her dress almost perfectly, the silver claws corresponding to her shoes. Smiling, Brianna heard the doorbell and scurried down to answer it, fastening the jewel around her neck. She found Aaron's babysitter, her next door neighbor in eighth grade, Kim. She wished her good luck with her brother and waved to the driver in the electric blue car that pulled up onto her driveway.

"Ready?" asked the boy in the driver's seat.

"Let's go," smiled Brianna. The pink orb sparkled with a new light as Brianna stepped into the car and buckled her seatbelt.

"I like your necklace Bri," complimented her date.

"Thanks," Brianna blushed, "it was a last minute thing." They drove to the school, passing by members of their classes on the way. Brianna's date, David, was a junior; he was a member of the baseball team. David parked and helped Brianna out of the car.

"Cute wings, I didn't notice them before," laughed David, "hey look over there, that girl _really_ went all out." Brianna looked up and saw Jaden walking in with another girl she had never seen before. The pale girl wore her black hair down and large, white, feathery wings on her back. The two girls disappeared into the building as Brianna and David stood in line. They handed their tickets to the teacher at the door and entered the gym through a white, balloon arch. The gym was decorated with silver, white, and pink balloons. Tables with four or five chairs lined the walls of the gym facing the dance floor in the center. The DJ started to play some songs to get the dance started. Brianna pulled David onto the dance floor after dropping her purse off at one of the tables. The songs were fast paced at first, and Brianna and David found some of their friends to dance with. They moved in a large circle facing each other, dancing to their own rhythms, having fun.

Brianna smiled up at her date, she spun into David's arms and they danced together for a moment. His chocolate, brown eyes looked into her icy, blue ones as they moved with the bouncy rhythm of the song. Twirling and swaying, they parted from the group and continued dancing. Out of the corner of eye, Brianna saw a tall figure in a bright, purple dress. She halted the dance with David to turn and smile at Jaden. She could not remember the last time she had seen the blond without a braid, but her hair looked pretty tied up.

"Hey Jaden," smiled Brianna.

"Hi Brianna," replied Jaden, "I love your necklace."

"Thanks," Brianna said, "I-"

"Hey Brianna, I'm going to get us drinks ok?" said David as he walked towards the drink table.

"Who was that?" asked Jaden, watching the boy walk away.

"That's my boyfriend, David," Brianna answered, "how have you been? I haven't seen you around school lately."

"Oh, that's because-" Jaden started. She felt a hand on her shoulder and saw Alexis.

"Jaden," Alexis interrupted, "your friend, the one with the wings, told me to-" Jaden sighed as her two friends faced each other, no words emerging from either of their mouths.

"Tell Ulani, I'll be there in a second," Jaden ordered. Alexis shrugged and walked away to find her. "That's why you haven't seen much of me. We have the same lunch period, did you know?"

"Really? We have room at my table, come sit with us," smiled Brianna.

"Only if you have room for three," Jaden sighed, "Rachel, Alexis, and me."

"Wonderful," sighed Brianna. The pink orb pulsed with energy.

"Did you see that?" asked Jaden.

"What?" questioned Brianna.

"Your necklace, it just glowed!" exclaimed Jaden, "where did you get it?!"

"It's my mom's," explained Brianna, "it must have been the light."

"No, I saw it. It turned _darker_ pink," Jaden replied, she paused and dropped her mouth in surprise, "it couldn't be."

"What couldn't be what?" questioned Brianna, "what's going on Jaden?" The crystal around the redhead's neck rose into the air, illuminating both girls' faces with soft pink light.

"It is!" smiled Jaden in aw, "the Heart of Candracar!"

"The what?" panicked Brianna. She pulled the necklace off of her neck and let it go. Instead of falling to the ground, the crystal floated in the air and pointed at Jaden. It glowed with a strong yellow light, the image of a circle with a dot in the center appearing.

"Grab it," ordered Jaden, "come on!" Brianna reluctantly grabbed the hovering jewel and followed Jaden deeper into the crowd of students, dancing to the music. Dancing their way through the others, Jaden spotted Ulani's white wings. She was surrounded by a bunch of other people, all sporting smaller wings. They were admiring her beautiful, real wings; they all loved how she had found such realistic ones to wear to the dance.

"Ulani!" called Jaden. The winged girl turned and bid the older kids goodbye, scurrying over to Jaden and Brianna.

"Yeah Jaden?" asked Ulani.

"We have a problem," explained the blond.

"A problem?" squeaked Brianna, "this is more than a _problem_, this is a _catastrophe_!"

"What's wrong with her?" asked Ulani. The heart hovered up, causing Brianna to release it again. It floated on its own accord and faced Ulani, glowing silver, flashing a spiral shape.

"What is it?" questioned Ulani.

"I'll explain when we get home," Jaden said, "we'd you put my purse?"

"On the table, I'll show you," Ulani said, pointing to a table near the DJ stage. The three girls hurried over and found Alexis and Rachel sitting, looking very bored. Alexis sported a pair of devil horns and a red tail, feeling someone had to break with the theme of the dance.

"Throw me my purse Alexis," ordered Jaden. Alexis shrugged and threw Jaden her silver purse. As she dug through it, Brianna cried out.

"It's doing it again!" she cried. The Heart of Candracar rose and pointed at Alexis, glowing bright red and showing the image of a triangle. Alexis stared at the crystal, an amused smile on her face.

"Whatever it is, I like it," she said, "it totally freaks out miss a popular pants, and that's great in my book."

"Shut up," snapped Brianna. The heart spun and faced Raquel, changing colors to ocean blue, a _c_ with a long tail flashed on its curved surface. The heart spun and faced each girl in turn, lastly pointing at Brianna, glowing a deep fuchsia and showing two parentheses, one on top of the other, both opening up towards the other. It faded and floated over to Brianna. It rested in her hands and returned to the way she had found it in her mother's jewelry box. Jaden hit the send button on her phone and waited, the four girls watched her, waiting to see what was going to happen next.

"Hello?" Jaden said into her cell phone, "Mom? Oh, sorry, Mrs. Olson, can I- Hey!" Brianna grabbed the phone from Jaden.

"Mom!" she exclaimed, "what's going on!? I borrowed a piece of your jewelry, like you said I could, and it came alive and glowed a million colors and Jaden called it the Heart of Caned Cars-"

"No, the Heart of Candracar," repeated Jaden.

"Mom, what's going on?" Brianna asked her mother, "why do you have this thing, I don't understand what's going on!" Her red hair sparked with electricity as her frustration rose. The four other girls noticed and backed away so as not to be shocked.

"Tell Me What's Happening NOW!" exclaimed Brianna. The lights flickered in the building and the fuse box near their table exploded; sparks shot everywhere. The table cloth of their table caught on fire, sending the five girls scurrying away, and right into a watching teacher. The sprinklers turned on and the dancing students started screaming and hurrying towards the doors.

"Alexis," shouted the teacher over the noise.

"I didn't do it this time," Alexis pleaded, "I swear!"

"And I didn't grade your last English paper as an F," frowned the teacher, "follow me girls." The teacher led the five shocked, wet girls out of the gym and towards the front of the school. She led them into the principal's office and took them to take a seat. Raquel sat down in the closet chair to the desk, but saw Alexis standing over her.

"You're sitting in my seat," she said, she added with a laugh, "it even has my name on it." She picked up the chair and showed the girls her name written in silver sharpie.

"Alexis," scowled the teacher, "vandalizing school property is against the rules!"

"Hey," whispered Alexis to Jaden, "they left me alone, I had to amuse myself." The blond laughed and waited as the teacher made them each call their parents. Brianna sulked, unknowingly still clutching the heart in her palm.

The English teacher opened the door after ten minutes; Will and Cornelia rushed in and looked at their daughters.

"Mom!" exclaimed Brianna, running into her mother's arms.

"She's such a crybaby," Alexis whispered to Jaden; Jaden frowned at her.

"Jaden, what's going on?" asked Cornelia.

"Um Mom," Jaden said, inhaling through her teeth, "Brianna took the Heart of Candracar and it did changed a color for each of us and showed a strange symbol.

"How did you know about the heart?" asked Will.

"Dad/Caleb," replied both Jaden and Cornelia at the same time.

"You know about this?" Brianna asked her mother, "And you're not freaking out? What's going on!"

"Cornelia," Will said, "do you think?"

"It's the only reason for this," Cornelia replied. She turned to Alexis and Raquel, "Are your parents coming soon?"

"I'm sleeping over, _remember_?" smiled Alexis.

"My aunt is coming," muttered Raquel slowly.

"Tell her, she can wait-" Cornelia said. The door opened. Raquel smiled as her aunt walked into the room.

"Tia Irma, está aqui!" smiled Raquel, hugging her aunt.

"Cornelia? Will?" questioned Irma with a grin on her face, "what are you doing here?"

"She's _your_ niece?" asked Will, "this works outs better than I thought it would."

"What?" asked Irma.

"We think the Heart of Candracar has chosen new guardians," explained Will, "and your niece is one of them."

"Wow," Irma responded, "Raquel? A guardian?"

"Let's go to my house and figure this out," Cornelia offered. Will and Irma nodded and herded the five girls out of the room. They walked to Will's car, but soon realized that even if they made Caleb and Matt walk home, there would not be enough room for everyone.

"We can walk back," offered Jaden and Alexis.

"Not in those shoes," Cornelia told her daughter. Jaden rolled her eyes.

"I can fly back," Ulani said. Cornelia nodded, the five girls were in this together now, they would learn the winged girl's secret soon anyway. Ulani opened her wings and took to the sky, making her way to the Hale residence.

"I'll get my car," Irma realized, "how could have I forgotten?" She found her parked car and drove it over. Cornelia told her address, which Irma immediately recognized as Elyon's old place, and jumped into Will's car with Brianna, Will, Matt, and Caleb. The Olson and Hale couples had been out eating, catching up when they received Jaden's call. The three girls climbed into Irma's car. They drove off, following Matt as he drove down the road to Cornelia and Caleb's residence.

Ulani was waiting at the table, kicking off her shoes. Once inside, Irma started some tea for the guests, filling the pot with her powers over water. Raquel could not believe what she was seeing, her aunt had magic. The other girls had a difficult time understanding what was happening as well, all except for Jaden, thanks to her father. All the bedtime stories she had heard as a young girl were finally coming true.

"What's going on?" repeated Brianna for the millionth time.

"You five girls are the new guardians of the infinite dimensions," said Will, "like we were before."

"Our daughter?" asked Matt. Will nodded.

"Each of you will have a power over a different element, water, fire, earth, air, and quintessence," Cornelia explained.

"How do we know which is which?" asked Ulani. Her excitement showed brightly on her pale face.

"The heart of Candracar," Irma said, passing around mugs of raspberry tea.

"I think I remember what everyone had," Jaden said, "it glowed yellow for me."

"Earth," replied Cornelia.

"It glowed silver for Ulani," Jaden recalled.

"Air," said Will, "But that's to be expected with her wings."

"For Alexis, it was red," Jaden stated.

"Fire," Cornelia nodded.

"Rachel had blue," Jaden spoke.

"Water," smiled Irma.

"And Brianna's was pink," Jaden finished, "well, darker pink."

"Quintessence," beamed Will.

"So wait," Alexis asked, "We suddenly have these powers over the elements supposedly. Why? What are we to do with them?"

"Well," Cornelia replied, "I really don't know _why_. When we got our powers Yan Lin told us Meridian had been in danger and the veil needed to be protected. But she was a grandmother then, and the four other guardians were either dead, locked up in a prison, helping the oracle, or ruling. The five of us are still here, we can still protect the world."

"Not really," Will frowned, "remember I told you about the accident with Hay Lin? She slipped a disk in her spine on a ski trip with Eric, but she's fine now. Her doctors wouldn't let her do anything too dangerous, in case it happens again; flying around and fighting bad guys is a _little_ dangerous."

"Oh," frowned Cornelia.

"We get to fight bad guys?" asked Alexis, "like who?"

"Well, we fought Elyon's brother, Prince Phobos, a former guardian, Nerissa, and Prince Faris of Rokador," remembered Irma.

"You fought King Faris?" asked Ulani, "so that's how you knew!" Ulani understood now, they had been there long before King Khalon had taken the throne, long before her world had been sealed off from the rest of the universe.

"This is so exciting!" Jaden exclaimed.

"It's cool, but it's hard to believe," Alexis frowned.

"How can you not believe it?" asked Ulani, "I always knew I loved to fly for a reason."

"Raquel?" asked Irma, "are you ok?"

"I think," she mumbled. She had lost the girls after Meridian and the fact that she could control water. She had never heard some of the words they used and was _literally_ lost in translation.

"So," Alexis said, "if what you're saying is true, then I should be able to light something on fire?" Will nodded and watched the new guardian of fire try out her powers. Extending her hand, Alexis lit a small flame on the tip of her finger. Her mouth dropped open in shock and the flame snuffed out.

"Let me try!" Jaden begged. She looked around and saw some green tomatoes on the windowsill. Copying her mother's movements, Jaden focused on the plants; they ripened in seconds, becoming full and bright red. Raquel looked to Irma who looked to the tea in front of her; she touched the liquid to her finger tip and made it rise. A smiled came to her lips. Ulani exhaled, sending the papers on the table into the air and fluttering around.

"Brianna?" asked Will, waiting for her daughter to show off her powers over energy.

"No, I wouldn't do it," Brianna said, "it's too weird." She opened her left hand and the Heart of Candracar fell out of her hand and out onto the table.

"Who does she sound like?" Irma whispered to Cornelia. The two girls giggled, but Will shot them a warning glance.

"It's okay Brianna," comforted Will.

"So what's this thing?" asked Alexis.

"The Heart of Candracar," Jaden smiled, taking the crystal, "the leader of the group holds the heart."

"It's what channels your powers and strengthens them when you need them," Cornelia explained.

"Yan Lin did a much better job at explaining all this," Irma sighed, "I feel as if we're missing something."

"Come on Bri," begged Jaden, "try out your powers."

"No," Brianna snapped, "I won't. Not after what happened tonight."

"Chicken," mocked Alexis.

"I am not!" Brianna shouted.

"Girls!" Will intervened, "you can't fight. As guardians, you have to be in harmony with each other. If not, your powers wouldn't work at their peak."

"How many times did we here those words?" Irma joked, "Wow, is it that late already? Raquel, I promised Chris you'd be home by now."

"Bye Irma," waved Will. She watched Irma and her niece leave the house. "We should go too." Will, Matt, and Brianna left Cornelia's house and climbed back into the car. Brianna had stuffed the pink crystal in her pocket and sat in the back of the car, thinking. Her perfect world had just come to screeching halt.

**--- **

Alexis led Jaden and Raquel, after school on Monday, towards a large group of students. She pushed her way through, looking for a particular redheaded girl with blue eyes. She found Brianna and pulled her free of the others. Alexis dragged Brianna over to Raquel and Jaden.

"What do you want?" asked Brianna.

"We need to practice," Alexis stated, "and you're coming whether we want to or not."

"Fine," sighed Brianna, "just let go of me." Alexis led the three other girls to Jaden's house. They found Ulani in her room and invited her outside. When all the girls had gathered in Jaden's backyard, they began to experiment. Raquel used the water in the pool to create shapes in the air. One of Ulani's gusts of air blew over one, freezing it. The two girls looked at each other in surprise and smiled. Jaden made flowers appear over the ground with a wave of her hand, but frowned when she saw Brianna sitting on one of the lawn chairs, doing nothing.

"Come on," smiled Jaden, "did you bring the heart?"

"Of course," sighed Brianna, "my mom wouldn't let me leave for school without it this morning."

"If you hold it up and say something," Jaden recalled, "we'll change!"

"Change into what?" asked Brianna, "and what do I say."

"I can't remember," Jaden sighed, "I remember my dad telling me once, but."

"Like maybe, Guardians Change!" called Brianna. Nothing happened. Jaden thought for a moment; the heart pulsed around Brianna's neck. She called her blue eyes and shouted out.

"Guardians Unite!"

"Water," said Raquel.

"Fire," Alexis said.

"Earth," smiled Jaden.

"Air," Ulani said.

"Quintessence," Brianna finished.

"How did you know what to say?" asked Jaden, looking at herself in the water.

"I didn't," sighed the redhead. The five girls looked at themselves in astonishment. Brianna found herself wearing a scooped neck teal shirt, exposing her midriff. Her pink skirt opened at the front, showing off her striped teal and pink tights and purple slip on shoes.

Raquel spun around, admiring her clothing; her brown hair, normally tied into a ponytail, hung down just past her shoulders. Her pink shirt had sleeves that ended just after her elbow. Her teal pants had a pink rope belt and went almost down to her purple boots.

Alexis smiled down on her outfit, it was like her regular clothing, except much brighter. Her teal shirt had no sleeves and ended far above her belly button. She wore a short pink miniskirt and striped tights with high purple boots under it.

Jaden pulled at her teal skirt; it opened on one side, exposing her striped tights and shoes. Her pink shirt had strange sleeves, looking like outwards facing crescent moons.

Ulani was the most surprised by her appearance. Her usually self-conscious personality was completely obliterated by her outfit. Her teal shirt was short and the selves were made to fit just under her shoulders over her arms. Her pink skirt was simply two large pieces of fabric on the front and the back connected only at the top by an inch of material. Her tights showed under it, on her feet were purple, slipper-like shoes. Her hair was tied up into a high ponytail; it flowed down far past her hips.

"We have wings!" exclaimed Jaden. She noticed that Ulani had kept her large feathery ones instead of getting smaller, butterfly ones.

"Those aren't wings," Ulani laughed, "those are sticks with leaves!"

"Ha ha," joked Alexis sarcastically.

"I'm older," Raquel stated.

"Yeah, supposedly we turn like sixteen or something when we're in guardian form," Jaden explained.

"No wonder I feel younger," Alexis sighed, "and what's with these tights?" The guardian of fire pulled at the striped tights, trying to ripe them off. She had no luck.

"Can I borrow that? Thanks," Alexis said, grabbing the heart from Brianna.

"Keep it," stated Brianna.

"Ok you magic crystal," Alexis said, pointing at the heart, "make me eighteen! They get to be sixteen; I think I deserve to be older too!" The heart did not respond to her. She rolled her eyes, wondering why she was talking to a piece of jewelry, and shoved it back in Brianna's hands.

"Let's try flying!" Jaden exclaimed, fluttering her wings.

---

Inside the kitchen, watching from the window, Cornelia and Will smiled. Caleb snuck a peak as well, watching his daughter take to the sky and disappear from view.

"It's as if our daughters took on the opposite personalities as us," sighed Will, "Brianna acts more like you, and Jaden seems to act like I did. I'm worried though; Brianna doesn't seem too interested in being a guardian."

"Neither did you," shrugged Cornelia, "at first at least. Give her some time. Did you remember when we first transformed?"

"Yeah," recalled Will, "it was under that bridge, when we first saw Caleb and Cedric." Cornelia smiled, lost in her reverie.

"I'm going to take Brianna home, it's time for dinner, and she probably has homework," Will said. She walked out through the back door and found her daughter.

"Time to go?" Brianna asked eagerly. Will nodded. The girls all suddenly transformed back into their normal forms. Both Jaden and Raquel fell from the sky and into the pool. Ulani stayed airborne on her wings and landed, falling to her knees with laughter. Jaden and Raquel swam to the side of the pool and got out soaking wet.

"You could warn us next time," frowned Jaden.

"Sorry," muttered Brianna. She walked through the gate with her mother and climbed into the car. They drove home; Brianna kept quiet the whole time. When Will parked the car in the garage Brianna hurried out of it, slamming the door, and running up to her room. She passed Aaron in the hallway, but hurried passed before he could annoy her. Will sighed and followed her daughter up to her room.

She opened the door an inch and peered in. Her daughter was lying on her bed, her face buried in her pillow. The Heart of Candracar was sitting on her dresser amid a pile of school work. Will walked into the room, grabbed the heart, and sat at the foot of Brianna's bed.

"Brianna, it's ok to be scared at first," Will said, trying to comfort her daughter. Brianna flipped over and sat near her mother.

"It's just so unbelievable," Brianna said, "magic, special powers, other worlds, this crystal, and the fact that you did this before me. I don't want to do this."

"Brianna," Will sighed, "I didn't want to lead the guardians either. I had hardly met Irma, Cornelia, Taranee, and Hay Lin when we were told of our powers. But you _were_ chosen."

"Do I have to?" asked Brianna, "they're so-" She cut off, thinking of a word to describe the group.

"Different?" Will suggested.

"Kinda," Brianna replied.

"That's what makes it work out," Will said, "you'll each have different strengths to add to the group, aside from your abilities with the elements."

"So quintessence is electricity right?" asked Brianna, "that's why the electrical box exploded at the dance."

"Electricity, energy, life forces," explained Will, "and lightning. But if you feel this strongly against it, you don't have to be a guardian.

"I'll give the guardian thing a try," Brianna said. She gave her mother a weak smile. Will smiled back and left Brianna to her thoughts. She walked into the master bedroom and pulled down her box of jewelry. She pulled the top cover off and found what she was looking for immediately. The blood, red jewel sparkled with the trapped abilities of her and her friends. She remembered when Nerissa had used their own abilities within this crystal against them.

She leaned back on her pillows and studied the jewel. She had had about twenty years to try and free the power trapped inside, but she could not think of a way. She had wanted to keep the jewel in one piece because it was old and important. She slipped the pendant over her neck and let it rest just under her collar bones. Closing her brown eyes, Will steadied her breathing and fell asleep. The jewel sparkled harmlessly around her neck.

---

Matt pulled into the driveway. He was home later then he had planned, he hoped Will had sent Aaron and Brianna to bed already, they had school tomorrow. Opening the front door, Matt yawned; it was past eleven. He walked up the stairs and saw a strange light coming from under Will and his bedroom door. The red light shifted and brightened. Matt wondered what could be making this light, when he figured it out, he pulled open the door. The red fold disappeared just as Matt charged in.

"Will!" shouted Matt.

* * *

Yeah! They've discovered their powers! The plot thickens… Who is your favorite girl? Which picture is the best? Tell me in your reviews! **Please send me reviews! I love them!!!!**


	5. Evil Arises

**I do not own W.I.T.C.H.**

* * *

**Chapter ****5) ****Evil Arises**

"Will!" called Matt again, hurrying over the bed to where the fold had disappeared. The door opened and Brianna looked through, yawning.

"Dad?" she yawned again, "why are you yelling? Where's mom?"

"Call Caleb and Cornelia," Matt ordered, "tell them to come over immediately." Brianna nodded and hurried from her parent's bedroom. She wanted to know what was going on, where her mother had gone to, and why she had to call the Hales. She picked up the phone and dialed Jaden's number.

"Hi it's Brianna --- Hi Mrs. Hale, something happened --- I don't know, my dad wants you and Mr. Hale over here right now --- I don't think he'd mind --- thanks, goodbye," Brianna said over the phone. She put the receiver down and waited at the door for them to arrive.

She opened the door for the people outside to enter. She smiled to Cornelia and Caleb and nodded her greetings to Jaden, Ulani, and Alexis. Matt walked down the stairs and saw the group gathered in the front hall.

"What happened?" asked Caleb.

"Will's gone," Matt replied, "there was a red fold, and she disappeared."

"Where?" asked Cornelia, "she wouldn't have gone to Rokador would she?" Matt shrugged and led the group up to the bedroom. He reminded them to keep quiet; Aaron was asleep in his room. Caleb and Cornelia entered the room and looked around. It appeared to be a normal bedroom, no signs of anything stood out to them. Ulani, Jaden, Alexis, and Brianna followed the three adults into the room. Jaden and Alexis looked around the room while Brianna crawled onto bed and hugged her mother's pillow. Ulani walked over to the open jewelry box, looking at the necklaces inside.

"Is this open for a reason?" she asked.

"It's Will's, I gave it to her when she turned sixteen. I can't believe she still has it. She must have been looking through it for something," Cornelia replied. Brianna's muffled sobs echoed in the crowded room. Jaden took a seat near her, placing her hand to the tearing girl's shoulder. Jaden drew back quickly as she was shocked by electricity. Brianna sat up and wiped the tears away from her face. Her sadness and confusion manifested in the energy jumping visibly around her body. One of the sparks jumped off and onto Will's alarm clock at the side of the table.

"No need to shock me! I'm already up," muttered the clock angrily. Ulani, Jaden, Alexis, Jaden, and Cornelia all heard the clock speak as clear as day.

"Did I do that?" questioned Brianna.

"Aside from your powers over the five elements, you each have another special power relating to your element," Cornelia explained.

"Would someone like to explain to me why that red light appeared and took away Will?" asked the clock, "we were having a nice conversation until she fell asleep."

"You saw what happened?" asked Ulani. Caleb and Matt watched the five girls talking to the clock and raised their eyebrows in question.

"She was sleeping on her bed after pulling out one of her necklaces. After a while, a light appeared, and a man with wings walked out. He looked around and saw her. Will awoke and saw him, but he grabbed her and disappeared with the light," recalled the clock.

"She took out a necklace?" asked Alexis, "Why?"

"And someone from Rokador came and took her," Jaden frowned, "we have to get her back."

"We're going to need help," Cornelia stated, "this is a guardian matter."

**---**

A dark room was illuminated by the bright light of a new fold. Falling forward into the new world, Will kept her balance and backed away. The man who had forced her here walked through the fold, black wings shining. The fold vanished, the last sparkles of light shining on his face. Will backed into a chair and felt her weight fall into it. She watched the man walk over to one of the three candles in the room, the only sources of light.

"What do you want?" asked Will, her voice calm. The winged man turned his attention away from the fire and looked to the redhead, as if seeing her for the first time. He made his way over to her, closing the space between them in seconds. Will pushed herself up against the back of the chair in an effort to get away; she had not felt this helpless since she was captured by Phobos all those years ago. He stood over her, eyes narrowing.

"Many years have passed guardian. My brother's unjust sentence at your hands will be avenged," he explained. The candle flame danced on its wick, throwing light onto Will's face, revealing the sudden unease with the situation in her brown eyes. His hand moved from its position at his side and rose in the air, drawing closer to her neck. Will's breath caught in her lungs as his hand touched the red jewel around her throat. She had forgotten she had been wearing it until now.

"And you will help me," sneered the winged man. Quick as lightning, Will slapped his hand away from the crystal. Grabbing it tightly in her palm, Will looked up at the man's darkened face, standing up from the chair she had fallen into.

"I will never help you," she snapped, "and neither can this crystal. It's just a piece of jewelry!"

"Do you think I'm as dumb as my brother?" questioned the man, speaking about Faris as if he had not cared to be related to him, "I had him tell me everything about you, everything he knew about your world. And he did seem to know a lot about you. He told me that the sorceress he had helped had locked your own powers in this very jewel. Powers I intend to use for myself."

"It's impossible," Will said, "there's no way to release the powers in the crystal unless you destroy it.

"That can easily be remedied, guardian," smiled Faris' brother.

"But even then, the powers will only flow back to their original owners," Will said, speaking what she had only just thought up. Even though it had just popped into her mind, she felt it was the truth she was speaking. Khalon rubbed his temples and began to pace back and forth in front of Will. She let go of the red jewel. "If you didn't break it, you'd never been able to command the power anyway."

"That's why I have you," smiled Khalon. Will felt her heart skip a beat; she saw him start to scheme and plan. "Even if you refuse to help me, the other four guardians will come looking for you, leaving earth defenseless so I can strike. Then you will have nothing to fight for."

"Why should you succeed where your brother failed miserably?" questioned Will, her bravery returning.

"So many questions," smiled Khalon, "but my patience is growing thin with your disrespect. Unlike my brother, my abilities aren't limited to simple peasant's weapons; I, like you guardian, have magic to do my bidding for me. Magic that will be used to conquer your fragile, unsuspecting world. My magic will be doubled once I get you to give me the powers in that crystal around your neck. Trust me guardian, I will get it." He turned and walked out the door; Will heard him turning a key and the lock clicking shut, bolting her inside.

Closing her eyes, Will tried to find Taranee's mind, the strongest connection on Earth. She must have been too far way though; no signal could get through to her. She doubted Alexis knew of her ability yet and sighed. Will sat back down, fingering the crystal at her throat. Whatever happened, both the fate of this crystal and herself were now intertwined in a deadly match involving an irritated, vengeful king.

---

The Silver Dragon had not changed in the last fifteen or twenty years. The Lin's still owned the quaint, Chinese restaurant. Only now, Hay Lin and Eric were in charge of running the tasks associated with it. Opening the door, Cornelia led the five young guardians into the empty restaurant. An African grey parrot squawked and flew over, alighting on Ulani's shoulder. She stroked the bird's grey feathers and watched as a woman with long, black hair came to greet them.

"Cornelia!" she smiled, "what a pleasant surprise. Have you come for another dress?"

"Not this time Hay Lin. I'm sorry to say it's urgent," Cornelia explained, "Taranee and Irma are on their way over right now."

"Visitors!" called the grey parrot, "more visitors!" The parrot took flight off of Ulani's shoulder and flew to Hay Lin.

"There you are Efrika," smiled Hay Lin, "don't bother the girls ok?"

"No bother," repeated the parrot, gently pulling at her owner's black hair. The bell rang, announcing Irma and Taranee's entrance into the restaurant.

"Where's Will?" asked Taranee, "it would be just like old times."

"That's why I wanted you guys to met to meet me here," Cornelia sighed, "Will's been kidnapped by someone in Rokador."

"Follow me," Hay Lin said, leading the three other older girls into a back room. The five guardians stayed in the front of the restaurant, taking a seat in the closet both to the door, hoping to eavesdrop in the conversation.

"Cornelia, tell us, what happened to Will?" asked Taranee behind the closed door.

"Her daughter Brianna got her alarm clock to recall the tale," Cornelia explained, "it said that a red fold and a man appeared and took Will."

"But what can we do?" asked Hay Lin.

"We have to go rescue her!" Cornelia exclaimed.

"But Cornelia," sighed Hay Lin, "we aren't guardians anymore. We can't do anything." Taranee and Irma looked to their feet and nodded in agreement.

"That's it, you'll just give up?" asked Cornelia, "you'll just let that person from Rokador keep Will?"

"It's the job of the new guardians," Irma added, "its Raquel, Jaden, Alexis, Brianna, and Ulani's job now."

"That's what I'm worried about," sighed Cornelia.

**--- **

"Did you hear that?" asked Ulani. The other four girls had looks of confusion on their faces; they had heard only muffled sounds.

"What did they say?" asked Brianna, "what's going to happen to my mom?"

"They were saying that it's not their job anymore, it's ours," sighed Ulani.

"But, I, we, cannot," muttered Raquel.

"Yes we can," Alexis said, taking charge, "we can get Mrs. Olsen back easy."

"Coming from the girl who couldn't control a Bunsen burner," frowned Brianna.

"Hey, who told you about that?" asked Alexis, "Jaden? Whatever, I don't hear you coming up with anything better. She's your mother, you should care!"

"I do," Brianna sobbed, "don't you think this is terrible for me? I was finally getting over being a magical pixie thing, and this happens!"

"What a crybaby," Alexis muttered, rolling her eyes.

"I am not!" exclaimed Brianna. The kitchen door swung open revealing another girl; she looked like she should have been in college. Her short, black hair framed her face, tied back by a lime, green ribbon. The ribbon matched her modern, yet oriental outfit. She smiled at the girls and looked around.

"Have you seen Mrs. Lyndon?" she questioned.

"I'll get her," Jaden answered. She stood up and pushed open the door where her mother was fighting a losing battle to persuade her friends to rescue Will. Hay Lin followed Jaden into the main room of the restaurant and smiled at the girl.

"Yes Li?" she grinned.

"My midterm paper is upstairs if you wanted to read it. There are some things I have to ask you about as well," the Chinese girl said.

"I'll be right up," Hay Lin promised, "why don't you go out and see some more of the city."

"Thank you," replied Li. She gave a slight bow and skipped out of the room.

"Who was that?" asked Ulani.

"Li," replied Hay Lin, "she's studying fashion merchandizing at the university here. She's helping me with the dresses I make, so I let her rent one of the rooms upstairs to stay in. She's a sweet girl, the daughter I never had almost."

"What's going to happen to my mom?" plead Brianna, bringing back the old subject of conversation. Hay Lin sighed and looked towards the door.

"Don't worry, we'll think of something," she promised. She disappeared behind the door and the talking resumed. Brianna reached into her pocket and felt the familiar, smooth surface of the Heart of Candracar. Even though she blamed it and its stupid powers for her mother's disappearance, it's warm, glass surface comforted her. She leaned back in her chair and pulled it out of her pocket. The pink surface mirrored her face, showing her blue eyes filled with tears. Brianna watched the pink coloring begin to distort and spin.

She held back a gasp as she looked into the crystal and saw her mother. Will was sitting on a plush chair, playing with a red jewel at her neck. She faced a boarded up window, staring at it; she appeared to be thinking. Standing up, Brianna ignored Alexis' continued ranting about her being a chicken and a crybaby. The redhead walked outside the restaurant; pushing Jaden's concerned voice from her mind; she refused to go back and be consoled by the friend of the enemy. Shutting the door, Brianna took a step backward in hesitation and bumped into something.

"Sorry," mumbled Brianna, "oh, it's you, Li."

"Mrs. Lyndon introduced me I see," laughed Li, "are you ok? You look upset."

"I'm just having a bad day," Brianna told the Chinese girl.

"When I'm having a bad day, it means I need to change something," Li suggested, "when I do, things usually brighten up."

"Thanks," sighed Brianna, "I'll keep that in mind." Li smiled and walked in the opposite direction in which Brianna was heading. The keeper of the Heart of Candracar ran home and hurried into her room. Pulling the pink heart out of her pocket, she glanced around, making sure her brother Aaron was nowhere in sight.

"Guardian Unite," she whispered. She watched as a sole, pink bubble encased her, transforming her into a guardian. Her feet touched the ground a second later; she looked at herself in her mirror, wondering if she'd really mature this much in only one year. She bit her lip and looked down at the heart. Alexis' words came to mind, what a crybaby, she's such a chicken; she couldn't save anyone if she tried. Taking a deep breath Brianna looked into the crystal.

"Ok Heart of Candracar, take me to where my mother is," she breathed. A bright, red fold suddenly appeared in her room, only inches from where she stood. Emboldened by the slight humming of the jewel in her palms, Brianna stepped through the shimmering, red fold. She opened her eyes and saw a simple hallway in front of her. The red light had dissolved into the air as if it had never been there.

Brianna strode off, realizing at once she had no idea where to go, her mother could be anywhere. The redheaded guardian had only walked three feet when she saw a girl about her own age ambling down the hallway which crossed her own, heading for a staircase. The girl picked up the hem of her dress and put a slippered foot on the first step in front of her, pausing only when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye.

"Hey," she said, referring to Brianna, "weren't you just upstairs?" Brianna paused and wondered what the girl meant. As the girl approached, Brianna noticed her black wings were tucked neatly behind her back, almost invisible from the front. "Oh, I'm sorry, you're much younger than her up close."

"You know where my mom is?" asked Brianna, a smile forming on her lips. It was the only reasonable way this girl could have thought to see her before, "can you show me?"

"She's your mother?" asked the winged girl, "she's in the north turret. I'll take you there."

"Thank you," said Brianna. She followed the winged girl up the set of stairs she was originally heading up. The Rokadorian girl happily led Brianna around the castle to the north side. They walked up three sets of different stairs. Brianna felt so elated that she forgot she had wings on her back to fly up the staircases.

"Just down this hall and up one more flight of stairs," smiled the girl. Her almost black hair spun as she turned her head around to face forward once more. Her smile faded as she saw a boy enter the hallway. "Great."

"Mayista!" called the boy, "watch out! She's one of the enemy!" Brianna paused; her heart sped up in her chest; she felt its wild rhythm in her temples as she watched the girl's reaction.

"Bug off Onofire," ordered the girl, "she's not hurting anyone. She's just looking for her mother. Come on, just a little further."

"Don't come crying to me when she turns on you!" called Onofire as he watched his sister lead the guardian down the hallway. The eighteen-year-old boy wondered if he should let his sister simply walk away with that girl. He watched the enemy as she pushed her hair behind her ears, flipping it up absentmindedly. He met her blue eyes for a second as she turned to see if he was still there, watching her and her guide walk down the hall. Feeling self-conscious since he was watching the girl as she walked in the opposite direction, Onofire hurried off to find his Uncle. Uncle Khalon would know what to do. Surely the girl with the small, sparkling wings, slightly, revealing outfit, and clear, blue eyes would do no harm to his sister. He caught himself imagining more about the redhead, and wondered what was going on. He brushed his daydreaming mind off as a side-effect of not getting enough sun and hurried away.

**--- **

Will yawned and lay back in the plush chair which had been her home for the past twelve hours. She wondered when someone would realize she was gone. Having no way to measure time, she wondered how much time had passed and divided it. She knew the days in Rokador were twice as long as the ones on Earth.

She heard voices outside her door and walked over it. Two voices, belonging to younger girls she guessed, were conversing outside the door. A slight knock and a question instantly revealed the identity of one of the girls.

"Mom?" asked Brianna through the door.

"Brianna!" exclaimed Will, "are the others with you?"

"No," Brianna spoke through the door, "they're back on Earth. We were fighting."

"Brianna, you have to go," Will ordered, "stay with the others. You're strong together, more then you'll understand."

"Not without you mom," Brianna said. She felt tears come to her eyes, but bit them back, "I can't go back without you."

"Yes you can Brianna," Will ordered, "and you will."

"Can't I just use the heart and go in?" asked Brianna, "I don't have the key, so-"

"I've tried," Will sighed, "the room is sealed against magic. I can't telatransport out, and you can't fold in."

"Wait!" whispered Brianna's guide, "I think I hear footsteps on the stairs. It might be my uncle."

"Brianna, don't get caught!" Will commanded, "fold home and stay with the other guardians and your father."

"Mom!" whined Brianna.

"GO!" shouted Will; a single tear escaped her brown eyes. She felt her daughter create a fold on the other side of the door and disappear. She slumped down against the wall and thought about what she done; at least her daughter would be safe.

Her door opened a moment later. Khalon appeared in the threshold to the room and looked around. Will saw a shadow disappear into room across the hall, hiding from the man who stood before her now.

"Who were you speaking to?" he demanded.

"No one," lied Will.

Mayista listened to the red haired lady lie to Khalon without regret. She thought vaguely about what would happen if she tried that, but she pushed it from her mind. Mayista hid in the shadows of the threshold of her and her brother's room. She listened to her uncle interrogate the girl's mother. She heard soft footsteps coming up the stairs; she saw her brother walk through the door and into the hallway. His golden eyes scanned the hallway, spotting his sister immediately. He noticed his uncle in the room, knowing that he would not want anyone spying on him.

"What are you doing Mayista?" asked Onofire rather loudly. Mayista cringed as her brother exposed her hiding place to their uncle. Khalon turned his attention from Will towards the hallway, spotting his niece and nephew.

"Onofire, Mayista," snapped Khalon, "what are you doing in the hallway?"

"I was looking for you," Onofire grinned, "Mayista found a girl and took her up here to talk with her." The young boy pointed to Will to solidify his point.

"I was only helping her find her mother," frowned Mayista, "she wasn't dangerous anyway. She had wings and everything, and the ancient texts for the rules and codes of the city said that-"

"Silence!" Khalon ordered. Mayista shut her mouth, biting her lip, trying to keep quiet. Onofire stood at the door, looking at his uncle. Khalon stood in silence after his outburst, wondering how this could be true.

"Did you help her?" asked Khalon.

"The girl was happy I showed her up here," Mayista replied after a moment's hesitation. Will wondered how the Rokadorian king was absorbing this news. She stood for a moment, setting a frown on her face as Khalon turned to her.

"Tell me-" Khalon's order was unfinished.

"No! Get out!" commanded Will. The red jewel sparkled as she extended her hand and released her pent up energy in the form of lightning. The bolt was directed at the entrance to the door, just left of Khalon and just right of the boy. Khalon frowned at taking orders from a prisoner but ushered his niece and nephew out of the room, locking the door shut behind him.

"Why do I still have my full powers?" Will asked herself, looking down at her hands. She had thought since the new guardians were chosen they would inherit the aura mirrors in Candracar and have all the mystical energy with them.

"Brianna," sighed Will, willing her daughter to listen, "stay with the others, please."

---

Brianna appeared in her bedroom and collapsed onto her bed. She let the tears in fall into her pillow as she thought of how close she had been to succeeding. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep off her problems, hoping her dreams would bring peace.

Awaking in the middle of the night, Brianna heard her mother's words echo in her head, stay with the others. You're strong together, more then you know. An idea popped into the red haired girl's head. Bring the other guardians. She would be following her mother's orders and be helping to rescue her at the same time. Smiling, Brianna picked up her phone and dialed Jaden's cell phone number. She had no intention of waking up the whole house.

"Hello?" yawned Jaden over the phone after it had rung for four or five times.

"Jaden," Brianna said, "it's Brianna, tell Ulani and Alexis to meet at my house now. I'll call Rachel. I have an idea."

"What's the idea?" asked Jaden, waking up and thinking clearly.

"I'll explain when you all get here," Brianna said.

"Brianna," Jaden reasoned, "you do know it's like three in the morning, right?"

"So?" asked Brianna, "it'll be easier to sneak out without our parents noticing we're all gone."

"Fine, I'll be there in ten minutes," Jaden agreed. Brianna smiled and hung up the phone. She frowned when she realized she did not know how to call Rachel without waking up the other people in her house up. Brianna looked at her phone and wondered for a moment if she could do it again; she touched her fingertips together and watched a spark jump across them. She touched her fingertip to the phone and stared at it as it spoke to her.

"Who am I calling now?" asked the phone.

"Um, Rachel," replied Brianna, still shocked that she was talking to her phone, "but can you only send the call to the phone nearest to her, so only she can hear it. I don't want the other people in the house to wake up."

"Sure," replied the phone. Brianna heard the click and the phone began ringing. After a few rings she heard Rachel pick up.

"Aló?" she asked, half asleep.

"Rachel, is that you?" asked Brianna.

"Brianna?" asked Raquel, "how did you do the ring?"

"I'll tell you later, come over to my house, it's on Orchard street, it's the big stone one," Brianna explained. Raquel said she would and hung up. Brianna grabbed the heart and crept down the stairs and outside to wait for the other guardians.

* * *

So what has the young keeper of the heart thought of? Read and Review. Comments are appreciated always! - Onofire is simply suffering from being a teenage boy pent up in a castle with no one besides his sister to talk to. Poor boy… I LOVE REVIEWS PEOPLE! 


	6. Returning to Rokador

**I do not own W.I.T.C.H. **

**---- **My readers, i am so sad. No one is reviwing! i'm going to cry! really :( :( :( Anyway, the first arc is almost done, visit my profile page for more information and links to great places! This chapter uses events that happened in my other W.I.T.C.H. story, **Season Three, The Battle with Rokador**, just to warn you. Read it if you haven't already, but you'll understand the events even if you didn't read it... Whatever ----

* * *

**Chapter ****6) ****_Returning to Rokador_**

Brianna stood outside her house, waiting for the four other girls. Jaden and Ulani arrived first, since they lived the closest to her house. They stood in silence, watching the stars shine on the crisp, fall night. Alexis hurried over with Raquel at her heels, the two girls panting after their run.

"So," breathed Alexis, "why did you wake me up in the middle of the night?"

"I fell asleep, and I didn't have a chance to tell you," Brianna explained, "we're going to rescue my mom, I have a plan."

"Wonderful," smiled Jaden.

"Yeah, great," frowned Alexis, "what does it include? Waking up to the older guardians in the middle of the night and forcing them to help us?"

"Alexis," scowled Jaden.

"No, it doesn't," Brianna explained, "we're going to fold to Rokador and-"

"Fold?" asked Raquel, "like clothes?"

"No, my mom called what the heart can do folding. The heart can take us to Rokador, just like teleportation," Brianna said.

"Great, back to Rokador," sighed Ulani, picking at her feathers to calm her nerves.

"Guardians Unite!" commanded Brianna. The heart rose in the air with her, illuminating the manicured, front lawn with soft pink light.

"Water," came Raquel's voice.

"Fire," stated Alexis.

"Earth," Jaden said.

"Air," Ulani breathed.

"Quintessence," Brianna finished. The girls stood in Brianna's front lawn and shivered as the wind blew around them. Jaden and Brianna's longer skirts ruffled with the breeze. Brianna held up the heart and spoke aloud.

"Heart of Candracar, take us to I was before, take us to Rokador!" A bright, red oval appeared, floating midair in front of the girls. Both Jaden and Ulani recognized the glittering object in front of them and stared at Brianna.

"This is a fold?" asked Ulani. Brianna nodded.

"This would explain how my parents and I got to our new house so fast," Jaden mumbled to herself. Brianna vaguely remembered hearing where her blond haired friend was from, but she had forgotten over the years.

"We go in?" asked Raquel. Brianna nodded and followed her through the passage across the worlds. The other three girls followed right after. They appeared the same hallway that Brianna had found herself in earlier that day. The sun was just starting to set in this world, leaving the hallways just slightly filled with light, the candles on the walls had not yet been lit.

"We need to find a key," Brianna explained, "the heart _and_ our powers aren't strong enough to open the room my mom is in. The lock was pretty big, so the key should be big as well. Let's split up."

"Spoken like the team leader," smiled Jaden. Alexis shot her a look and rolled her eyes.

"Jaden, you come with me," Brianna said, "we'll go left. You all go right." The redhead and the blond ran down the hallway leaving the other three guardians alone. Alexis led Ulani and Raquel down the corridoor, checking inside the doors, looking for a key ring. The sounds of metal jingling alerted the girls that the target was near.

"I'll go this way," Ulani offered, "you two go the other." Alexis shrugged and hurried with Raquel down the forked hallway to the left. Ulani disappeared around a corner, her skirt flowing behind her.

"Aquí," mumbled Raquel to herself. She tugged at Alexis' wing and pointed inside the next doorway, repeating her phrase in English, "here." The two girls saw a man with black wings pacing back and forth, playing with a ring of keys around his finger, spinning it around so the keys jingled.

"How do we get him to put it down?" wondered Alexis.

"I _wish_ he would put them down," Raquel frowned. The man stopped pacing, exhaled a deep breath and set the keys down the table. Raquel could not believe their luck, and she smiled at the strange coincidence. Alexis grinned as she thought of a plan. She concentrated on the candle at the table, shedding miniscule beams of light into the room. The curtains had been thrown over the windows, leaving the candle as the only source of light.

Raquel watched as Alexis focused on the dancing, candle flames, noticing them growing taller with each passing second. In an instant, the fire on the wick died. Alexis hurried into the room, heading straight to the table where the keys had been placed. Raquel stood at the doorway, straining her brown eyes to try and spot Alexis in the darkened room. Alexis found the table, feeling the surface, her fingers finding the cool metal of the keys. Closing her fist around them, she darted towards the hallway.

"Close the door!" ordered Alexis. Raquel did as she was told once Alexis was out of the room. The guardian of fire shoved the key into the lock on the door and turned it, hearing the reassuring sound of the bolt clicking into place and locking the man inside.

"Come!" called Raquel. The two guardians hurried down the hallway away from the room to find Ulani, Jaden, and Brianna.

"This reminds me of the time that I left a dent in one of the lockers at school, and I was running from that _really_ mean hall monitor and she-" Alexis laughed.

"Not now!" scowled Raquel, cutting off her partner.

"Do you hear that?" asked Alexis, stopping suddenly.

"No," Raquel said, shaking her head.

"Come on, this way," pointed Alexis. They turned down a hallway and hurried away.

---

Ulani paused and walked through an open door. A smiled blossomed on her face as she saw shelves piled high with scrolls and ancient books. She walked over to a shelf and ran her fingers over the multiple volumes of the hardcovered books.

"What are you doing?" asked a surprised voice. Ulani's heart skipped a beat and she turned around, her skirt flying. The voice continued "Who are you supposed to be?"

"Well, who are you?" Ulani shot back, looking at the boy in front of her.

"I asked first," he frowned.

"I'm a guardian of the infinite dimensions," Ulani replied, noting that those words were a mouthful.

"Well I'm the prince of Rokador, Prince Onofire," the boy answered, "that beats out whatever you are." Ulani paused for a moment.

"So you're the cause for all the problems in the city?" accused Ulani.

"What problems? There are none," the prince defended himself, "besides, what would a _peasant_ know about the running of a world?"

"I know you're doing a bad job, people are dying, and you sit here doing nothing!" Ulani exclaimed.

"I don't have to listen to a word you say," snapped Onofire, "liar!"

"Spoilt prince!" Ulani exclaimed back.

"Dirty peasant!" retorted the prince.

"What!" Ulani exclaimed, "I'll have you know-"

"Ulani, come on," called Alexis at the door, "we've got them!"

"What's going on?" asked Onofire. Ulani smiled and flapped her wings at the boy, rocketing him into the open window with a strong gust of wind. She watched him get stuck in the window frame and hurried after Alexis and Raquel.

"I didn't think you had that kind of _temper_ in _you_," laughed Alexis.

"You heard me?" asked Ulani, running alongside the two girls.

"All of it," Alexis grinned.

"How?" asked Raquel, "I did not."

"But then, how did I hear it?" asked Alexis, taking the next left turn to return to where the five girls had split up.

"Jaden's mother said that we each had a special ability aside from our elements," Ulani remembered, "maybe you can hear people's thoughts!"

"Sure," muttered Alexis, "that would mean I could hear Jaden's thoughts as well, and even Brianna's."

"Try," Raquel said, "are you able to?" Alexis sighed and closed her eyes, reaching out to try and find the two other guardians' minds. _Where are Alexis, Raquel, and Ulani? We're running out of time_, came a voice in Alexis' mind.

"Jaden!" she exclaimed, "I can! I can read minds!"

"Can you tell them we're coming?" asked Ulani, "and ask them where they are."

"I'm not a walkie-talkie!" shouted Alexis. She frowned, closing her brown eyes and searching for Jaden's mind again. The three girls had found the staircase they had split up at and stood waiting.

"_Jaden_?" Alexis asked mentally.

"_Alexis? Is that you_?" asked Jaden, "_how did you_-"

"_I really have no idea_," replied Alexis, "_we have the key, where are you_?"

"_Take the stairs we went up when we spilt, then take two lefts, we're at the stairs there_," Jaden explained. Alexis nodded and leapt up the stairs two by two. Raquel and Ulani followed her, taking to the air instead of climbing the stairs. Alexis saw them pass her and joined them on her wings, flapping furiously. They flew down the hallway, took two left turns and crashed into Jaden and Brianna.

"Do you have the key?" asked Brianna. Alexi smiled and held up the key ring. Brianna grabbed for it, but Alexis pulled it away.

"Where do we go now?" intervened Ulani.

"If I remember correctly, it's the second door once we climb these stairs," Brianna explained. Jaden nodded and led the girls up the tight spiral stairs. They quickly flew the distance, throwing open the door at the top.

"Here," said Brianna, "now hand me the key!" Alexis handed over the metal key and watched as Brianna turned the bolt in the door, allowing the door to open. Brianna rushed in and over to the only occupant of the room, wrapping her arms around her mother. The four other girls flooded into the room as well.

"Let's go," Ulani said urgently, "I think I can hear shouting downstairs."

"Come on mom," plead Brianna, "I'll fold us out of here."

"This is just like last week when I was hiding from one of the teachers because I ditched class and they were searching for me when-"

"Alexis, we have more pressing issues then you getting into trouble," Jaden frowned.

"The King will know that I'm missing," Will said, "he'll just work to get me back-"

"What are we supposed to do, leave you?" asked Brianna.

"Any ideas?" asked Alexis.

"Yes," smiled Raquel, "but I don't know the word in English."

"Tell us," Jaden said, "maybe we can guess."

"Un gemelo," Raquel said. The girls looked at her with confusion. Ulani thought for a moment and blinked.

"A double?" she wondered.

"Close enough," Raquel replied, she wondered why _she_ had not thought to tell them the synonym.

"If we made a copy of Mrs. Olsen, then no one would know!" Alexis smiled, "but how?"

"An astral drop," Will said, "Brianna, hold out the heart. All of you must image me and say Pord Lartsa."

"Pord Lartsa," repeated the five guardians. The young guardians were astonished when they opened their eyes and saw two Wills in front of them.

"Wow," said Jaden, "it's like your identical twin!" Footsteps rang on the stairs.

"We have to go!" Brianna panicked.

"Get out of the room, lock the door, and drop the keys just outside it," Will ordered, "it has to look like you never got in." The girls did as they were told. Brianna held up the heart and opened a fold home. It disappeared just as Khalon stepped through the door.

The King of Rokador walked over to the door, turning the knob and finding it locked. He saw the ring of keys on the ground, and he picked them up. Unlocking the door, Khalon looked inside the room and saw the redhead sitting in her usual place on the plush chair. He closed the door again and could not believe his luck.

---

The girls appeared in Brianna's bedroom and instantly changed back into their pajamas, the clothing they had been wearing before they went to Rokador. Will watched her daughter close the fold they had entered through and sat on her bed.

"Are you ok Mrs. Olsen?" asked Jaden. Will nodded and touched the crystal her neck; she pulled it off and held it in her palm as the girls circled around her.

"Do you know why the king wanted you?" asked Ulani.

"Yes," replied Will, "because he wants this." She held up the red crystal for the girls to see.

"King Khalon wants a piece of jewelry?" asked Ulani.

"It's not the crystal, it's what's in it," Will explained, "this jewel is similar to the Heart of Candracar. They both have some degree of control over the elements, but while the heart only focuses your powers, this one contains the powers."

"Where did you get it?" asked Alexis.

"The Oracle let me keep it after my friends and I defeated Faris and Nerissa. This jewel was Nerissa's," Will explained, "she had captured some of our powers in it to try and defeat us."

"The Oracle?" questioned Raquel to herself.

"Who is Nerissa?" asked Jaden.

"Well," stalled Will, "she was the guardian of energy before me, and, your grandmother."

"What!" exclaimed Jaden, "I'm related to someone who tried to kill my mother!?"

"Small world," mumbled Alexis. The girls glared at her; and Alexis threw her hands up in defeat.

"Giving you the heart that night," Will continued, talking to her daughter, "made me wonder if I still had this. I took it out and fell asleep thinking about it."

"What matters is, you're back," smiled Brianna. She locked her mother in a tight embrace, ignoring the fact that the four other guardians were watching. Jaden shoed them all out of the room to leave Brianna alone with her mother.

"Great, and I actually thought that I would get some sleep tonight," Alexis sighed, "but I guess I'll have to sleep tomorrow in chemistry." The three other girls laughed and they made their way towards the front door.

--- ---

"Jaden!" called Brianna. Jaden shouldered her backpack and closed her locker. Brianna walked over and smiled at her, last night's events had simply melted from her mind. Alexis saw the two of them and came over, locking her arms over the two girl's necks.

"What's up girlfriends!" she said rather loudly, purposely to annoy Brianna. Brianna frowned and shoved Alexis' arm off her shoulders.

"Just because we're teammates, doesn't mean we have to be friends," she scowled, "here." Brianna flipped her hair behind her ears and handed the two girls each an invitation.

"What's this?" asked Jaden.

"An invitation to a party," explained Brianna, "I had one last year too, I always do right after homecoming, it's this weekend."

"Why are you inviting me? You hate me," said Alexis, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, I do, but since you're a jock, it's cool for me to invite you," Brianna explained, "whoever wrote that rule, wasn't thinking straight. Anyway, see you at the party Jaden!" Brianna walked away and called to her other friends to wait for her and walk to lunch with.

"See you too," Alexis called, rolling her eyes, giving Jaden a chance to laugh. Brianna ignored her and walked into the cafeteria surrounded by her friends.

---

Jaden walked up to Brianna's house and rang the bell. She heard pulsing music playing inside and saw flashing lights shooting through the windows. Brianna opened the door and pulled Jaden inside. The front hallway was filled with other people from school. Jaden covered her ears and shut her eyes for a moment.

"Does the music have to be so loud!" she screamed so Brianna could hear her.

"Don't you love it?" smiled Brianna, "my parents aren't home, so I can blast it as loud as I want."

"Your parents aren't home?!" exclaimed Jaden, shocked.

"You can't have a party when your parents are home," laughed Brianna, "there's food in the kitchen. Loosen up Jaden, it's a party. Dance, talk, meet some new people!" Brianna disappeared into the crowd of dancing teens. Jaden pulled at her braid and made her way into the kitchen; she sat down at the table and watched the party goers mingle around her.

The house had been transformed. Cray paper streamers hung from the ceiling and around doorframes, making curtains to walk through and swaying with the motion of people's movement. Confetti and paper cups and plates littered the counters and tables. The music blasted from the stereo system in the living room, pounding on Jaden's ears and causing the light fixture above the table to swing slightly.

"Jaden," laughed Alexis, sitting next to the blond, "why aren't you dancing?" Jaden shrugged.

"The lights are annoying, I don't know anyone, the music is too loud-" complained Jaden.

"That's what a party is!" laughed Alexis again, pulling the girl up from the chair; she winked and added, "there are some cute boys in the den if you wanted to go see if they can dance."

"Jaden! There you are," smiled Brianna, appearing from behind a wall of Cray paper, "having fun?"

"Tons," smiled Alexis, "this party is hot." Alexis snapped her fingers forming small flames on each of her index fingers.

"Don't!" she hissed, "someone might see!"

"Like you've never used your powers outside of being a guardian," Alexis rolled her eyes.

"No, I haven't," Brianna said.

"Oh yeah, in fact you almost never use them at all!" Alexis exclaimed, "just because you short circuited the gym at the dance, you hate everything to do with them!"

"Whatever!" shouted Brianna. She turned and her heel and disappeared through the wall of paper. Alexis grinned at Jaden, but the guardian of earth shook her head, telling her friend not to light anything on fire.

"You're no fun, you know that?" joked Alexis.

"Yeah, I know," smiled Jaden, "now where were those boys?" The two girls giggled to themselves and disappeared into the crowds of dancing teens.

---

Khalon turned the bolt to the door that Will had been locked in. He was growing tired of the guardian's resistance to hand over the jewel's powers. Opening the door, King Khalon looked around the room. He felt his mouth drop when he saw the condition of the guardian. Hurrying over, he studied her. She was fading into nothingness, becoming one with the air around her.

"What's happening?" shouted Khalon. He looked to the girl's neck and saw she was not wearing the crystal he needed, "I've been tricked by the other guardians." He watched as the guardian disappeared before his eyes, as if she had never been there. The door swung open; Khalon saw his nephew enter the room.

"Uncle, why are you yelling?" the boy asked. Onofire looked around and found the room to be empty. "Where is she?"

"The guardians have tricked us," Khalon explained, sitting down in the same chair that Will's astral drop had just vanished from in. "Those girls tricked me into believing that they had never entered the room when they stole the keys."

"But Uncle Khalon," Onofire interrupted, "you said that the guardians were all the same age, I was, well, attacked, by a girl my age. She said she was a guardian as well." Khalon thought for a moment.

"But what if I miscalculated?" Khalon spoke aloud to himself, "what if there are two sets of guardians for earth? It seemed that the older set is no longer helping Earth if they sent the new ones out. All we'd have to do is take out the new guardians to complete the first phase of my plan. It's too bad that they are all from Earth."

"Why is that?" asked Onofire. The boy leaned against the boarded up window near his uncle, wondering what was going on in his head.

"If even one of them was from Rokador, then we could persuade her to join our side," Khalon grinned, "then she would destroy her teammates before they would have a chance to oppose her."

"The one guardian who attacked me did look like she was from here," Onofire said, "she had white wings though, instead of dark ones."

"Perfect," Khalon said, an evil grin spreading over his face, "Onofire, I have a job for you."

* * *

How's the story coming? Too fast / too slow?**I love reviews**! I love drawing all these pictures, but if anyone wants to send me their renderings of scenes or the girls and/or them and their powers just send me the link, I'll put it up! The next chapter is where the girls finally learn their **acronym**! Jaden really is the opposite of her mother… 


	7. Ulani’s Conversion

**I do not own W.I.T.C.H.** The story is moving along… One of the girls will discover a word that fits all their names… Can you guess it? Probably not… Oh, sorry if I get the lacrosse game wrong. I'm hoping it's like soccer, so that's how they're playing it. You'll see why I choose, '**enemy's blood'** in this chapter as well.

* * *

**Chapter ****7) ****_Ulani's conversion_**

The music switched to a slower song, giving Jaden a chance to escape from the room. Alexis shrugged and continued to dance with the boys. The blond moved through the house, traveling further from the source of music, trying to calm her growing headache. She opened the door to the bathroom and hurried inside. She shut the door and happily sighed, enjoying the peace and silence of the room. She sunk into the plush, red, fuzzy rug on the floor, her back against the door.

A soft red light illuminated her face as she looked up. Jaden felt her heat beat faster. In the bathtub against the tiled wall, a red fold glittered.

"_Alexis_?" muttered Jadenin her mind, "_Come in here_."

"_Where are you_?" came Alexis' reply

"_In the bathroom_," answered Jaden, "_we have a problem_." Jaden had just closed her mind and stood up when the door knob turned and Alexis bolted into the room. The girl's mouth hung open in shock as she took in what she was seeing.

"How did that get there?" asked Alexis.

"It was already here when I came in," Jaden explained, "we need to tell Brianna." Alexis rolled her eyes, but she followed Jaden into the crowd of dancing party goers.

---

Brianna danced around her living room with David; she had turned the music up louder, so the whole house could hear. She saw Jaden and Alexis appear out of the corner of her eye at the doorway. Sighing, Brianna stopped dancing, left David to himself, and walked over to the two girls.

"Enjoying the party?" asked Brianna.

"There's a problem," Jaden stated, "there's a fold in your bathroom!"

"Stop kidding," laughed Brianna. When Jaden and Alexis kept their faces smile free, Brianna's vanished as well, "I already ditched David at the homecoming dance for guardian stuff. I'm not ditching him again!"

"Brianna, you're a guardian first-" Alexis hissed.

"I didn't even know what I was until a week ago!" Brianna shouted. The music ate up her words so only the two other guardians could hear her.

"Just come and see it!" pled Jaden. Brianna slumped her shoulders and sighed. Jaden pulled her through the crowd towards the bathroom; Brianna dug her hand into her jean pocket and pulled out the heart. The three girls opened the door and peered inside the room.

"So, where is it?" asked Brianna.

"It was just here," Jaden stuttered, "I saw it!"

"So did I," Alexis agreed.

"Jaden, maybe the music is getting to you," Brianna sighed, "maybe you should go home and get some sleep."

"But, I know I saw it," Jaden insisted.

"Call me tomorrow when your head is clear," Brianna said, "don't worry about it." The redhead led Jaden and Alexis through the house and towards the front door. She promised to see Jaden at school on Monday and disregarded Alexis' existence as she closed the door.

"She kicked us out," scowled Alexis, "I'll see you at practice tomorrow ok? We'll see if anyone else on the team had fun." She walked away from Jaden, leaving the blond to walk home alone.

Flipping her braid over her shoulder, Jaden walked down the street. She ambled under the street lamps, gazing at the few stars above. She could not remember too many things about her life in Meridian, but she could clearly recall the nights she had spent with her father on the thatched roof of their house. There had been ten times as many stars there, and Jaden missed seeing them all above her.

A giant figure swooped through the sky, hovering in place when it saw Jaden. The blond smiled when she recognized the figure in the air; Ulani swooped down and landed on the sidewalk next to her friend. She closed her white wings and pulled them closer to her body to guard against the wind.

"I thought you were at Brianna's house," Ulani said.

"I was, but she told me to go home after I saw a fold and when I went to show her, it was gone," Jaden explained.

"But you did see one, right?" questioned Ulani.

"Of course," Jaden said. She paused and looked to the stars, as if the twinkling dots in the sky could offer assistance.

"What's wrong?" asked Ulani. The two girls began the walk to the Hale household.

"This isn't what I thought it to be like at all," Jaden sighed, Ulani raised her eyebrows in confusion and Jaden clarified, "when I was younger, my mom and dad would tell me stories of when they fought evil. My mom's friends were the guardians before us, and they worked so much better together. We don't act like a team at all. Their group even had a cool name that all their names spelled, W.I.T.C.H."

"Well," Ulani smiled, "we can do that. What letters do we have?"

"U for Ulani, J for Jaden, A for Alexis, B for Brianna, and R for Raquel," Jaden said. The wind blew past them, blowing Ulani's long, black hair into her face as she rearranged the letters in her mind.

"I got it!" smiled the young, Rokadorian girl, "but, I don't know if you'll know it."

"What is it?" asked Jaden.

"B R U J A," spelled Ulani, "bruja, it means enchanted warrior in ancient Rokadorian, and if you accent the A when you say it, then it means _warriors_."

"It's something," sighed Jaden. The blond started to walk towards the house but noticed Ulani had not followed her, "aren't you coming?"

"I'll be back in a while," Ulani called. She opened her wings and took to the sky.

"Just don't let anyone see you!" shouted Jaden at the girl as she flew away. Jaden smiled to herself, wishing she had the gift of flight without needing to transform.

---

Ulani watched the guardian of earth walk towards her house. As much as Jaden was jealous of Ulani's ability to fly, Ulani wished she had a home with her mother and father as Jaden did. Pushing the thought from her mind, Ulani flew higher, using the clouds as cover. The full moon made flying dangerous; she did not want to draw attention to herself by being seen. She neared Brianna's house, watching the windows emit streams of colored light, and the music drift up to her in the sky.

She saw someone move in the bushes below, and she immediately dove down to the ground to conceal her wings. Ulani hoped the person had not seen her in the air, Jaden would be furious if she was found out.

"Who's there?" Ulani called. She walked out of the bushes and looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of the person she had seen before. Ulani faced Brianna's house, wondering if the person was just a partygoer who stepped out for some air. Suddenly, Ulani had the breath knocked out of her as she landed on the street, pinned beneath a body. She rolled over, using her wings for leverage against the ground and threw her attacker off. Getting to her feet, Ulani examined her bare arms, noticing how the pavement had scratched them up. She turned to the person and scowled.

"Aren't you a long way from home," she frowned.

"I could say the same for you," the boy commented.

"Rokador is _not_ my home," Ulani shouted, "Earth is!" She took to the sky and spun in a tight spiral. Her wings caught the air and sent it at the prince below her, knocking him into a wooden fence. He should have been blown away, why am I so weak? wondered Ulani as she landed. The socks she wore provided little protection from the cold ground, but she ignored it and approached the Prince of Rokador.

"Why are you here?" asked Ulani, standing over the boy. Onofire opened his golden eyes and looked at the girl's silhouette in front of him. He narrowed his eyes and sprung up onto his feet, opening his wings as if he would take to the sky. Ulani jumped back, avoiding the boy's first punch. She had never fought hand to hand before, she had always run. She swung her hand at him, pulling with it a gust a wind, only at half the strength if should have been. The boy stood his ground through the attack and then charged at her. Ulani pushed her hands forward, trying to block him with air; her attack fell short.

Onofire closed his black wings in front of his body, whipping them back to his sides, ripping through the air. The prince not only ripped through space and time to create a red fold back home, but he also caught Ulani's hands and wrists, cutting through her pale skin on accident. The girl fell through the red fold with Onofire right behind her. Then the fold disappeared, as if it had never existed.

Ulani slid through the fold, landing on the ground on the other side. She felt someone grab her wrists and pull her to her feet. She winced as the open cuts stung when they were touched. She opened her eyes and watched the fold zipper itself closed and Onofire step closer.

"Well done nephew," congratulated the voice of the man who held Ulani's wrists, suspending her easily in the air before him.

"Uncle," said Onofire, eyes studying Ulani in the candle light, "I'm not sure she is the right girl now. She is, too young." Onofire looked up at her uncle, trying to ignore the girl squirming in his grasp.

"What's going on?" demanded Ulani, "let me go!" Khalon laughed at her struggles. He looked to his hands as she tried to get free. Khalon threw Ulani to the ground when he saw his hands were coated in blood.

"Filthy peasant," snapped the king, "look what you've done!" He looked to his hands and scowled. Ulani rubbed her shoulder where she hit the floor and pulled herself up. She looked to her wrists, noticing the long slice marks where the prince had caught her.

"What do you want?" questioned Ulani.

"Only to return you to your home, where your family is, where you belong," stated Khalon, his lie had no effect on Ulani.

"Rokador is not my home!" shouted Ulani, "my parents are both dead thanks to you. Do you even know what's happening in this city? People are dying, and what do you do? Nothing! When you closed off our world to the rest of them, you sentenced your people to death! There's no food, your stupid solders are everywhere, harassing innocent people and arresting them for no reason. No one can afford to buy the few things we need to live, and you've forbidden us to do what we all have a birthright to do, fly!" Khalon silenced the girl with a sharp slap, sending her spinning across the floor.

"It is not a peasant girl's business to tell a king what to do," Khalon ordered, "even if she is a guardian." Ulani held a bloodied hand to her cheek where his hand met her skin, a large red spot already forming, marking her face. Tears formed behind her grey eyes, but she held them back.

"Is that what this is about?" asked Ulani, "the guardians?" Khalon walked across the room to where Ulani had landed. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her to her feet; Ulani shivered as he touched the bare skin on her arms.

"I only wanted to bring you back to your home," Khalon said smoothly. His eyes met Ulani's, locking them in place. "You don't see the whole picture; I'm fighting a war against the Earth, the traitorous planet of mere humans. Their protectors, the guardians, were the ones who killed your past king, King Faris. You've been gifted with great power, but you're fighting for the wrong side. Come back to us, fight for Rokador." Ulani felt his voice wash over her like silk; her mind was clouded with his words. She believed him; she had been fighting for the wrong side. Her grey eyes closed for a moment then opened, the King's words sunk deep within her mind.

"You're right my king, I have been fighting for the wrong side. But no more. I will protect my birth-world," Ulani said, bowing her head to him. She was thinking clearly again, but she felt like a part of her was missing. Her memories of Earth were clouded; she could only remember her first moments there, the sadness, the humiliation, the evil people staring at her, muttering about her, thinking she could not hear them.

"How did you do that?" questioned Onofire. He waved his hand in front of Ulani's eyes, but she swatted his hand away.

"She's still herself Onofire," Khalon explained, "I simply persuaded her to switch sides. The girl is on our side now. You will keep an eye on her though."

"Yes uncle," Onofire promised, he lowered his voice and muttered, "what am I, the babysitter?"

---

Jaden yawned as the sunlight seeped through her curtains and rested on her face. She pushed her hair out of her face and slipped out of her bed. Rubbing her eyes, she changed into a pair of sweat pants and her practice shirt and left her room. She skipped down the stairs and appeared in the kitchen. She smiled to her mother and father as she sat down at the table. Her plate was set out with pancakes; her mom had finally, after seven years of practice, learned how to make pancakes that tasted good.

Caleb was absentmindedly forking the cakes into his mouth as he looked over a piece of paper. Jaden did not bother to ask him what it was, instead she watched as Cornelia took a seat opposite of her with her own plate.

"Jaden, have you seen Ulani?" asked Cornelia.

"Not this morning," replied Jaden, shoveling the golden pancakes down, "I saw her last night, why?"

"She wasn't in her room when I went to wake her," Cornelia explained. Jaden shrugged, silently wondering where the girl had disappeared to. She glanced up at the clock, her eyes opening with shock.

"Practice starts in ten minutes!" she exclaimed. She jumped to her feet and ran up to her room, grabbing her lacrosse stick. She hurried down the stairs and called a quick goodbye to her parents.

"Knock some heads!" called Caleb as his daughter left the house.

"Caleb," scowled Cornelia, "it's only practice."

"You play like you practice," came Caleb's reply. Cornelia rolled her eyes and smiled. She watched Jaden hurry across the front lawn and run towards the park.

The blond shouldered her lacrosse stick and hurried across the street towards the park. The rest of the team had already assembled and were sitting around talking about the scrimmage against the boys later that week. Jaden walked over and dumped her stuff with the other girls', joining their circle on the grass.

"Hey Jaden, we were just waiting for you," called one of the girls.

"Yeah, we can't practice without our star player," smiled Sophia.

"I thought_ I_ was the star," complained Alexis.

"Jaden can take a hit better then you can," shrugged Sophia.

"True," agreed Alexis, "so let's start practicing!" The girls agreed and jumped up, grabbing their equipment and a ball. Jaden and Alexis took their positions on offence and faced off against the other half of their team. They had just enough players to split and practice a real game.

"_Alexis_," said Jaden, mentally calling out to her friend.

"_Yeah_?" came the girl's response, "_go left_!" Jaden darted left and caught her friend's pass as if the move had been choreographed. The two of them were always on the offence together; the other girls could never figure out how they knew what the other was doing, and they weren't going to share their secret anytime soon. Jaden raced forward and passed the ball back to Alexis just inches from the goal, hoping to confuse the goalie. The trick worked and Alexis scored.

"_Alexis_," continued Jaden as they ran back to the center line, "_Ulani is missing_."

"_What?_" asked Alexis, ready for the pass, "_are you sure? She might have just gone flying and got lost_." Alexis turned to assist defense as the ball was intercepted and pushed toward Sophia in the goal. Jaden ran with her, the earth under her feet springing her forward with speed none of the other girls could keep pace with. She knocked the ball from her opponent's stick and caught it before it hit the ground. She rushed past the approaching girls and flung the ball to Alexis who passed it back as soon as she caught it. Jaden swept past the other team and ran unopposed towards the goal. She scored and returned to Alexis.

"Nice goal," complimented Alexis. Jaden shrugged.

"_What are we going to do about Ulani_?" asked Jaden.

"_After practice we'll meet the other girls and try to find her_," Alexis stated, she cupped her hands around her mouth to amplify her already loud voice, "Ok girls!" The rest of the team gathered around Alexis, the unofficial captain until the season started.

"Let's practice some defensive drills," Alexis stated, "we can't let Jaden here get through us that easily." The girls laughed and Jaden blushed. "Sophia, play goal again. Everyone make two lines, offensive and defense. The first two people of each line get on the field. Offense, you try to score, defense, you can't let them. Let's try it, Go!" The girls split off and tried the drill. Jaden and Alexis alternated sides, playing both offense and defense while giving helpful hints as to how to improve the other girl's playing.

Time passed and the girls stopped right before noon. Jaden and Alexis bid the other girls goodbye, grabbed their things, and walked down the street. They dropped off their things at Jaden's house and hurried to Raquel's place. They had never been to the house before and wondered if they had gotten the address right. Alexis rang the bell, hearing footsteps inside the house. The door opened, a tall girl with dark brown hair like Raquel's stared down at them.

"Hey, is this Raquel's place?" asked Alexis, peering inside the house. She saw the living room in a state of emergency, clothing and books piled high on the sofa and chairs.

"Yo no se donde mi hermanita Raquel es," spoke the girl in fluid Spanish so fast the two girls at the door could hardly pick out Raquel's name.

"What!?" exclaimed Alexis, "don't you speak En-glish?"

"No inglés," the girl scowled. Footsteps where heard down the hall, causing the three girls to turn their heads to the source of the commotion.

"Marisol, quien es al puerta?" asked Raquel's voice. The guardian of water appeared and smiled at the two dumbstruck girls. "Alexis, Jaden, it is nice to see you."

"Estás saliendo?" asked Raquel's sister, "dice tia Irma antes salas." The girl disappeared down the hall.

"What a grouch," Alexis stated, "I mean, I had no idea what she was saying, but I could tell she wasn't nice about it."

"I know," Raquel agreed. Jaden smiled at the girl, her English was getting better, "are we leaving? I need to tell my aunt. Wait here?" Alexis and Jaden nodded and waited for Raquel to tell her aunt Irma she was leaving with her friends. Raquel appeared again with a sweater and her aunt at her heels.

"Hello girls," smiled Irma, "be back for dinner Raquel."

"I will," promised Raquel. Irma closed the door and noted that the three girls were headed towards the Olsen residence. She knew they were off to do something guardian related, but she did not know what. She silently wondered where Jaden's winged friend from Rokador was.

---

Will looked up from her magazine when she saw figures walking up to the front porch. Smiling, she recognized Jaden's long, blond hair and got up to let the girls in. She pulled open the front door and offered the girls a chance to come inside for a moment.

"We just need Brianna," Jaden spoke.

"I'll get her," smiled Will. The redhead hurried up the stairs and walked to her daughter's room. While the girls waited for Brianna, Alexis tried to reach out to Ulani's mind. Searching through clouds, she was unable to find her. Brianna appeared behind her mother, walking down the steps to the other three girls. Will left them alone and walked into the kitchen.

"So," announced Brianna, shoving her hands into her pockets, "for what do I owe this meeting?"

"Ulani's gone missing," explained Alexis, "I can't even find her thoughts. Something must have happened. Let's talk outside." The four girls walked through Brianna's front door and into the Saturday noontime sunshine. As the door closed, Jaden's voice carried on the wind into the kitchen where Will was enjoying a piece of toast. She heard Cornelia's daughter's comment, "So you didn't get caught for the party I see." Will smiled as she heard the girl's statement. She wondered how on earth this girl was her friend's daughter, she was so different from her mother.

"Are you going to do something about your daughter's party last night?" grumbled the stereo from the connected living room, "I'll go deaf before next year if she turns up that blasted music again!"

"I still don't know what I'm going to do," Will admitted, "she doesn't think I know, and I should talk with Matt about it." If the stereo had eyes, he would have rolled them at Will's indecision.

Outside, the girls continued their conversation.

"I never get caught," smiled Brianna, "I doubt my parents even know."

"Forget the party," Raquel interrupted, "we need to save Ulani!"

"I just remembered," smiled Jaden, "last night; when I saw her flying, she told me the first letter in all of our names spell a word in Rokadorian. B. R. U. J. A. It means enchanted warriors. Isn't that cool?"

"Bruja?" clarified Raquel, "that is a Spanish word as well. It means witch."

"This is extra cool!" Jaden exclaimed, "it's just like the previous guardian's names, their names spelled witchonly in English!"

"Really?" asked Alexis, "then it must be like a requirement for a group of guardians to have their names spell something or what not."

"But about Ulani? Where could she have gone?" asked Raquel, returning the conversation to the previous train of thoughts.

"It's guardian time," smiled Alexis. Brianna pulled the heart from her pocket and held it out so the girls could see it.

"Guardians Unite!" called Brianna. The heart released three orbs of energy with three of the four elemental colors, each one surrounding the girl it represented. The heart transformed Brianna, its own orb growing to encase her in pink energy.

"Water,"

"Fire,"

"Earth,"

"Quintessence," Brianna called, "it sounds different without Ulani... Where are we going?" As if an answer to the question appeared out of the blue, a cerulean fold appeared in front of the group of guardians behind Brianna's tall hedges around her house.

"Brianna, did you make a fold when I wasn't looking?" asked Alexis, peering around Raquel's shoulders to look at the shimmering blue vortex.

"No," squeaked Brianna.

* * *

Where does the fold go? Do you like their acronym? I wanted different letters then the other stories, I'm sick of more witch any variation of magic or more common acronyms. I figured no one would find this one. And they all (except for Jaden and Ulani) have _relatively_ common names. (But since Jaden and Ulani both come from other worlds they can't have _common earth_ names now can they?)…. **I love reviews!**** What's your favorite one of the pictures on my profile? (I'd love to know)**


	8. The Power of Air

**I do not own W.I.T.C.H.** Only my own girls and Rokador! (Even though I married Hay Lin off to Eric and her name should be Hay Lyndon, I'm still calling her Hay Lin. Deal with it.) (This episode has a shout-out to **W****ITCH** _season 1, episode_ "**Walk this Way**." You'll see why, I hope.) Send me reviews on what you think!

* * *

**Chapter ****8) _The Power of Air_**

The four guardians watched the fold ripple before them like a pond. Raquel studied it, still nervous about the hole through space and time that could transport them to other worlds.

"I'm going to see what's on the other side," Jaden announced. Before the other girls could stop her, the blond guardian walked through the blue opening. The three girls still on Earth stood in silence, waiting, watching, and listening for the earth guardian. Alexis finally lost her little patience and pushed Brianna through the fold.

"Why did you do that?" asked Raquel.

"Because," smiled Alexis. She grabbed the water guardian's arm and dragged her through the blue fold as well. Alexis tripped over Brianna's form on the ground and landed next to her. She looked up and felt her mouth drop; she looked up at a massive castle with bright trees surrounding it; it looked like scene out of a fairytale.

"Where are we?" asked Brianna. She was just as stunned as Alexis and Raquel as she looked around the magnificent new world. "Jaden?" The three guardians looked around for the guardian of earth. They were surprised to find her embracing a girl who looked to be about her age when she wasn't transformed. The girl was dressed in a floor length robe-like dress the shade of sunshine. Her almost white, blond hair contained natural, strawberry hints; her hair was pushed back behind her ears and her long bangs were gathered back in a small ponytail atop the back of her head.

"Oh Kyra," smiled Jaden, releasing her childhood friend from a tight hug, "It's so nice to see you again!"

"Wait," Alexis said, "this is your friend from the picture?" Alexis looked up at the castle. "She really _is_ rich." Kyra laughed at Alexis' comment and gave the other girls warm smiles.

"I see you found the fold I made," she said, addressing her statement to Jaden.

"_You_ made it?" asked Jaden in awe, "without a heart or anything?"

"Yeah," smiled Kyra, "it's the _only_ thing that I can really do. But look at you Jaden! A _real_ guardian. Let me guess, the guardian of earth?"

"Yeah," smiled Jaden, "it's just like old times, except its real now!"

"So why are you four here?" asked Kyra, "and shouldn't there be one more girl in your group?"

"We are looking for her," Raquel answered.

"We were on our way when we found your fold," Brianna explained.

"The fold," mumbled Alexis, "Jaden! The _fold_ at Brianna's party was _red_. It was from Rokador! What if Ulani was kidnapped like Mrs. Olsen! She's in Rokador!"

"Brianna, you have to fold us to Rokador!" Jaden exclaimed, realizing Alexis was right, "maybe I'll see you soon Kyra!" Brianna swiped the Heart of Candracar across the air and opened a red fold to Rokador. The four guardians disappeared through it, leaving Kyra alone in the royal gardens.

The guardians appeared just outside the castle wall in Rokador. They looked around, wondering where in the world they were until they saw the red tinted landscape. Hurrying behind a shop they discussed where they would go from here.

---

"My king," spoke a guard, "the four guardians have arrived, as you said they would. What are your orders?" Khalon stood up; walking away from the throne he had previously been seated on. Onofire watched his uncle approach the guard, eager to know what he would do. Ulani stood motionless; she _seemed_ to be ignoring the situation.

"Capture them," ordered Khalon, "make sure you get the one with the pink crystal to me. Onofire, watch the castle while I'm gone. Have the girl use her powers to defend the castle against the others."

"But uncle," Onofire interjected, "why not just take these girl's powers first?"

"Because there is an easier power source on Earth to take, one without these guardians' protection," the king explained to his nephew, "it will be mine and then _I_ will rule Rokador and all other worlds unopposed!" He created a fold with his black, speckled wings and disappeared through it. The king appeared in Heatherfield. Regally folding his wings behind his back, he walked through hordes of startled earthlings towards where he felt the red crystal's power, a Chinese restaurant in the middle of the city of Heatherfield, the Silver Dragon.

---

Will hurried down the sidewalk, stepping into the familiar warmth of the Lin's restaurant. The lunch crowd had just died down, leaving the dining room empty. The redhead opened the backdoor to the kitchen, spotting the four other previous guardians.

"Brianna and the other three girls just folded away," Will announced, "where would they have gone?"

"Was Ulani with them?" asked Cornelia, she clarified when her friends gave her confused looks, "she was missing this morning. She went out last night and didn't come back."

"She wasn't with them when they came for Raquel," Irma added. Will nodded her head in agreement.

"Maybe they went looking for her?" suggested Hay Lin.

"Most likely," Cornelia sighed. Will watched her friends as they looked around the room, a loss of words had taken hold of them. The previous keeper of the heart let her hands go to her neck, subconsciously closing her right palm around the red crystal. She felt the energy from her friends and her own powers within it, almost as if they were intensifying in strength. She wanted to keep the red crystal safe now that her own daughter held the Heart of Candracar. Aside from that, it seemed to give her strength now that she was worried for Brianna.

The bell rang, announcing entrance of another customer. The restaurant was closed, but Hay Lin always had people interested in her dresses and other clothing she made. Hay Lin called for Li to help out. The girl gave a quick response; her footsteps were heard as she skipped down the stairs to assist the customer in the main room. Hay Lin heard her assistant gasp and she got to her feet rather quickly. She winced in pain as she bent her back too fast, causing both Taranee and Irma to jump up as well.

"What's wrong?" asked Cornelia. Will and Cornelia joined the others on their feet and looked around.

"Li," Hay Lin said. A crash interrupted her next words, breaking pottery echoed throughout the restaurant. The five girls ran at the door to the room where the noise reverberated from, fearing for Li. When they entered the main room of the restaurant, they were more than surprised at who they saw. Li shook her head, recovering from her crash with an ancient, clay vase and the golden, dragon statue at the front door.

"King Khalon," muttered Will. The red jewel glittered at her neck, expressing her anger in tangible electricity snaking across her skin, "why are you here?"

"You know as well as I do guardians," smiled Khalon, opening his wings, doubling his size in the small room, "hand over the jewel."

"No," replied Will, her left hand closing over it again.

"So we'll play this game again," Khalon stated, "fine." He flew at the five girls. Li recovered from her shock and grabbed Hay Lin's arm, pulling her into the kitchen and out the back door into the alleyway. The other four girls followed her lead, rushing out of the Rokadorian's way to escape the confines of the building. Irma and Cornelia pushed the dumpster in front of the door to buy some time.

"Mrs. Lyndon," Li stuttered, "who, no, _what_ was that?"

"Um, well Li," Hay Lin smiled despite the pain reverberating up her spine, "he's just a king from another world who's seeking his revenge on us."

"Ah huh," blinked Li. The poor girl opened her mouth to speak but shut it again, barely remembering to keep breathing.

---

The four guardians stood where they appeared, still wondering how they would go about finding the missing air guardian. Raquel surveyed the landscape; the shop they hid behind barely gave any coverage. The castle loomed over them. If the white, stone building had been able to breath, it would have been breathing down the four girl's backs at the moment. Before any of them could come up with a plan on what to do next, sounds of clinking armor filled the air. The entryway the guardians had entered through was suddenly blocked by a platoon of armed guards.

"Halt!" called the leader of the small army, "stay where you are!"

"Like I'd start listening now," laughed Alexis. She extended her hand and formed a fist. Her hand lit on fire, making the perfect fireball launcher. She let a few dozen fly at the armored men before she stopped and saw that only two of the flaming projectiles actually hit their targets. Jaden took over, calling on the roots and plant life under the dirt road to come to her aid. The vines tangled around the soldier's feet, anchoring them to the spot. The rooted men hacked at their living shackles while the four girls looked for an escape.

"We have to get into the castle," Raquel stated, her eyes full of panic.

"There's an open window!" pointed Brianna. The four guardians took to the sky, leaving the soldiers on the ground in a state of mild shock. They flew towards the window, but none of them were able to fly in a straight line. Each one of the girls eventually made it through the opening and landed on the other side.

Dusting themselves off, a shadow moved behind a curtain in the room. Alexis immediately held up her hands, ready to fend off the enemy with a barrage of her badly aimed attacks. The sunlight from the window illuminated the shadow, revealing the girl the four guardians were looking for.

"Ulani!" smiled Raquel. The brunette embraced the air guardian.

"You're ok," smiled Jaden, "we have to find the person who kidnapped you and teach him a lesson."

"Guardian Unite!" called Brianna. The silver orb that was previously absent from their previous transformation made its appearance, changing Ulani into a guardian.

"Good," said Alexis, "now let's g-" Her words were cut off as Ulani silenced her with a blast of wind.

"Ulani!" called Raquel, "what are you doing!?" Ulani turned to the brunette next, her grey eyes not comprehending that she was hurting her teammates. Taking to the air, Ulani puckered her lips and blew out a long breath, whipping the guardians to the wall. Thinking fast, Jaden raised a wall of stone to block the wind. Brianna, Raquel, and Alexis gathered behind it with her, wondering what had gotten into their friend.

"We can't fight _her_," Jaden said, "she's on our side."

"Really?" Alexis asked, her tone of sarcasm was obviously apparent. The wall slowly began dissolving like grains of sand on a sand dune, blowing away to reveal a tornado of air. The four guardians each ducked a different way, hoping to avoid the wrath of Ulani's powers.

Jaden's braid whipped around behind her back, swatting against her wings as she tried to maneuver around the room to get behind the guardian of air. Ulani noticed her out of the corner of her grey eyes. She did a midair back flip and sent Jaden hurtling into the stone wall of the room with a single wave of her hand. The guardian of Earth blinked and tried to clear her green eyes from the stars that were circling her head.

Ulani turned away from Jaden and focused on Alexis. Alexis' aim with her own element was terrible; the fireballs she released flew in every-which way, not even close to disarming Ulani. The Rokadorian guardian let an evil smile grace her lips for a mere second before sending her wings into overdrive and flying straight at Alexis. The guardian of fire felt her chocolate eyes widen in surprise; Ulani neared with every passing second. Alexis held her breath, prepared to shoot another round of flames at the girl, but she couldn't push herself to complete the task. Ulani nearly avoided colliding with Alexis and pulled into a tight spiral, circling around the confused girl. Alexis felt the oxygen around her start to thin as Ulani spiraled tighter and faster. Falling to the ground, she choked on the lifeless air around her.

Ulani pulled out of the tornado, letting it die down and watching Alexis fall to the ground. She set her sights on Raquel next. The water guardian braced herself after seeing Ulani disarm the two other guardians so easily. Raquel extended her hands towards Ulani, letting a fountain of water stream towards her. Ulani hovered in the air, contemplating how to use this to her advantage. Her black hair twirled around her body as she did a front flip in the air, sending a blast of cold air towards the fountain of water. The liquid froze with the first wave of cold air and flew backward as Ulani sent another gust towards Raquel. Raquel winced and closed her eyes as the ice crystals flew towards her. She ducked and sidestepped, trying to avoid the small, icy shuriken that her own element had transformed into because of Ulani. She felt the ice catch her guardian outfit, pinning her to the wall.

Brianna watched as each of the other guardians was defeated. She dove behind the curtain Ulani had appeared from behind, sliding on her knees on the cold, stone floor. She slid into someone's feet and looked up. The boy gasped as he looked down the girl kneeling before him.

"It's you!" they both exclaimed in anger.

"What have you done to Ulani?" questioned Brianna, getting to her feet and standing at eye level with the Prince of Rokador. Onofire watched her through his narrowed, golden eyes; he watched a single bolt of static electricity jump across her hair, amused at the look that graced her blue eyed face.

"What did you do!" commanded Brianna. She flew at Onofire, her hands already forming a bolt of energy to throw at him. The boy saw the glow of the attack in her manicured hands and pulled his wings out to protect himself. Brianna chucked the ball of electricity at him, but it bounced harmlessly off of him when it hit his razor feathers. Angered more by the turn of events, Brianna let the energy fly from her palms towards him.

"Coward!" exclaimed Brianna, "fight back." Onofire whipped his wings out, sending the electric stream into the wall, creating a small explosion.

"I can't hit girls," Onofire replied, disappointment in his voice, "but I _can_ do this!" He ran at Brianna, hooking his left arm around her waist before she had time to react. He pulled her out from behind the sanctuary of the viewing curtain and into the open. None of the other guardians had managed to free themselves or recover.

"Attack her!" commanded Onofire, throwing Brianna onto the floor. Ulani locked eyes with the Keeper of the Heart of Candracar and dove towards her.

"Ulani stop!" called Brianna, "You're fighting on the wrong side! We're a team!" Ulani faltered upon hearing those words, but she regained her composure and sent a gust of icy wind towards the redhead. The breeze pulled with it an old, oak desk and three thick chairs from the corner of the room, and blew them towards Brianna. The redhead covered her face with her arms and felt the full impact of the flying furniture as it buried her beneath it. She struggled to get free, but noticed that the desk must have weighed a ton.

"That was easy," Onofire stated, disappointed. He walked over to Brianna and raised his eyebrows, staring at the heart around her neck, "I wonder why my uncle wants this crystal. It's just jewelry."

"Get away from her," mumbled Alexis. Her vision was still blurred from the lack of oxygen, but she was regaining her senses again. "The Heart of Candracar will never be your Uncle's or yours!"

"It belongs to Candracar," Jaden added.

"To me," Brianna snapped, "and the guardians!" Brianna could not believe she had just said that. She had admitted that she was part of a team with Alexis the rule breaker, Raquel the foreign student, and Ulani the girl from another world. She hoped her friends would never hear about this.

Ulani blinked her grey eyes and slowly hovered down to the ground. She wobbled for a moment, trying to get her bearings as her mind cleared. It was as if a strong, icy wind had blown the many layers of concealing fog away from her memories. Standing up straight and closing her white wings, Ulani spotted Onofire standing over Brianna.

"Stay away from her," the Rokadorian girl commanded.

"No, you're on _my side_," Onofire stuttered, "not _theirs_. Stop!"

"No, I'm through taking orders from _you_!" Ulani shouted. The ferocity of her voice was suddenly carried away on the wind entering the room from the open window, "do you even know what side _you're_ on?" Ulani watched Alexis stumble to her feet and Jaden rub her temples, her head pounding where she had hit the wall. The Rokadorian girl sent a helpful breeze towards Brianna, lifting the desk and chairs off of her body.

"Alexis," Brianna stated, getting to her feet, "help Rachel." Alexis nodded and channeled her element's heat through her hands without flames, melting the shards of ice that held Raquel in place. In a second, the frozen water was liquid again, and Raquel was able to walk towards the other girls.

"Take a seat Onofire," ordered Ulani. She raised her hands and blew a gust of air at the Prince, knocking him backwards towards one of the chairs that had previously pinned the keeper to the ground. Jaden pointed her finger at the chair and watched as branches sprouted from the wooden arms of the chair, locking the boy in place.

"When my uncle hears about this," muttered Onofire.

"Then he'll know not to mess with the guardians," Alexis smiled.

"No," Ulani interrupted.

"Why not?" asked Brianna, "he needs to learn a lesson." Alexis nodded her head, her hands flaming.

"Girls, Onofire didn't do anything," Ulani said, "_he_ didn't block my memory. Now that I realize what happened, I remember King Khalon suppressed my memories of Earth, making me forget I was a part of something there, then I would fight against you. But Onofire, your uncle also said when he'd get back, _he'd_ rule Rokador, without you."

"No," Onofire argued, struggling against the earthen binds, "he's helping me rule until, I, turn… eighteen… I'll be eighteen next week." Ulani watched the prince grasp the concept that his uncle would cheat him out of his birthright. "You're lying! My uncle will give me the kingdom when I come of age!"

"You don't know anything your uncle is doing!" Ulani exclaimed, "what was the last thing you did in regards to the law in Rokador?"

"I-" Onofire stuttered, "haven't."

"King Khalon is going behind your back to get _your_ power," Ulani explained, her frustration rising, _why did this boy not see it_?

"You're lying!" repeated Onofire.

"No I'm not," Ulani pled, "Onofire, I _know_ your uncle was lying. I could _feel_ it, I just knew. You _have_ to believe me!"

"I want to hear my uncle's side of the story first," Onofire retorted. Ulani nodded to Jaden, she waved her hand over the branches binding the prince's hands to the chair. They wilted, allowing Onofire to pull free and stand up.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Alexis, ready to tear the boy limb from limb if he double crossed them.

"He only wishes to talk with his uncle," Ulani explained, "he's not lying, he won't trick us."

"So where are we going?" asked Brianna, holding out the heart. Brianna jumped backwards into Raquel as another blue fold appeared in front of her.

"What is this?" asked Alexis jokingly, "find a fold day?" Brianna rolled her eyes, inhaled a deep breath and took the plunge through the fold. Jaden and Alexis followed her and Raquel, Onofire, and Ulani took up the rear. The five guardians and Prince of Rokador stepped into a massive room. A fountain bubbled happily in the center of the domed room. The archways led to a puffy clouded sky outside. The room held wisdom in the air, as if memories could speak for themselves of the past events that had occurred here.

The five guardians turned and gazed, marveling at the grandeur of the building. The ancient stone work seemed cracked in places and rebuilt in others, but it did not take away from the splendor. A wall of stone, layered into three different sections of height, formed a semicircle against one wall; it seemed to be place for meetings of some kind to be held.

"Hello?" called Jaden, searching for the person who had opened the fold for them to have gotten here. She knew that folds did not just appear, they had to be opened.

"Welcome guardians!" announced a voice. Onofire saw the man first and raised his eyebrows in amusement, never before had he seen such a ridiculous outfit. The bald man looked young, yet he carried himself with a white aura of all-knowing. His ice, blue robe came up in a high collar that circled his neck but came nowhere near it. The man turned his head to look at the five guardians, and Onofire noticed a green tattoo on his right temple. He recognized the shape, but could not place it with words.

"I'm glad to finally get the chance to meet you," smiled the man, "but I'm afraid you've come to Candracar at a bad time."

"Hang on," Alexis interrupted, "who are you?"

"Forgive me," the man muttered, "I am the Oracle of Candracar."

"You?" asked Jaden, "I'd thought you'd be older. The way my mom talked about you-"

"Yes, your mothers were surprised as well," the Oracle said, directing his statement at Jaden and Brianna.

"May I ask, Sir, um Oracle," Ulani stuttered, "why have we come at a bad time?"

"Earth is under attack," the Oracle explained, "the previous guardians are in danger."

"From who?" demanded Alexis.

"A Rokadorian threat, the king is after Will's crystal," the Oracle explained.

"You!" Alexis turned on Onofire, who up until this point had been watching the five girls converse with this man quietly.

"I've done nothing!" the prince exclaimed, throwing his hands up in defeat. Ulani stepped between the two of them before Alexis killed Onofire.

"He didn't know that his uncle had gone to Earth," Ulani explained, "King Khalon did not tell us where he was going."

"Time grows short," the Oracle reminded them. Brianna took the hint and opened a fold to Earth, "I look forward to seeing you girls again." The fold disappeared and the Oracle left the domed room.

---

The back door to the Silver Dragon burst open; the dumpster flew out the way, colliding with the wall of the building across the alleyway. Taranee, Will, and Irma jumped left to avoid the door while Cornelia, Hay Lin, and Li scurried to the right. Khalon walked out through the threshold into the sunlight of the alleyway. The king watched them scurry away and dove after Will, Taranee, and Irma. He was only inches from the hem of the redhead's coat when he felt his feet his feet stick to the ground. Looking down, Khalon noticed that small weeds had begun to entangle themselves around his boots. He glanced up and saw that the blond was causing the plants to grow and trap him. Reaching down and ripping the feeble plants away, he turned and rushed at her, giving Will a chance to escape.

Taranee grabbed Will's arm and pulled her up the fire escape on the neighboring building. The other girls, except Li, all heard her telepathic message to follow them to the roof. It would not only be safe from the random, watching passerby, but also they would have more room to maneuver. Climbing the ladder ever higher, Taranee looked down the other girls on the ground. Khalon rushed at them. He slid on a puddle of water which had been a few feet over only seconds before, and he skidded into the brick wall of the restaurant.

"Hurry!" called Taranee, "up the fire escape!" The three girls on the ground looked up and saw the others making their way up the steel, stair case. Hurrying to join them, Cornelia, Hay Lin, and Li climbed towards the roof. When Cornelia appeared at the top of the fire escape, she climbed over the small, cement wall bordering the roof and reached back to help Hay Lin. Taranee peered over at the ground and watched Khalon get off the ground and look around.

"What now?" voiced Taranee, watching the group in a tight circle. Li was helping Hay Lin after her careful climb up the fire escape. Catching their breath, the previous guardians wondered what they would do now. Under her mask of strength, Li trembled, trying to stay strong after all that had happened. The steel bars holding the fire escape trembled as a large figure climb up them. He leaped over the cement barrier and landed facing the girls.

"That would have been _a lot_ more dramatic if he had flown up," Irma said, resting her chin on her palm.

"Irma," Cornelia hissed, "this is not the time for jokes!" Irma rolled her teal eyes at Cornelia. Khalon watched the guardians and Li stare at him, wondering what he was planning.

"Hand over the crystal," commanded the King. Will made no move to hand it over. Khalon narrowed his eyes, focusing on Will's right hand, the one wrapped around the jewel at her neck.

"Stop playing games," ordered Khalon, "you will give it to me!"

"No she won't!" Cornelia stated, her hands resting on her hips.

"The magic won't work for _you_, you can't control it," Taranee called to him. Irma and Hay Lin nodded in agreement and stepped closer to Will with the others. Khalon ignored the other guardians; he only had eyes for one. Will watched as the king began to close the distance between the two groups. The girls backed into the ledge separating them from the air over the street and watched a smile come to rest on the king's lips. He dove towards their group. Cornelia pulled Will with her as they moved away behind the others. Li dragged Hay Lin to the left, falling to the ground on the roof. Taranee and Irma stood their ground and blasted a mixture of flames and water at the king, neither element of the two had the strength that they once could have been at. The burning steam had no effect on Khalon; he slid through the smoke and past the previous water and fire guardian.

Shoving Cornelia aside as he landed, Khalon reached towards Will and pinned her shoulders to the cement wall. Attempting to slip free, Will squirmed in his iron grip. She watched as he grabbed the red jewel, pulling at the ribbon it was attached to, pulling her neck with him. She closed her eyes and let her anger manifest in tangle electricity. Khalon hold his grip on both her necklace and her shoulder as the energy coursed through him.

The other girls looked up from their positions on the ground, blinking as they tried to make out what was happening between the king and Will. The King of Rokador felt the energy radiate from the jewel into his body, but he refused to release either the girl or the crystal.

"Let go," breathed Will, her brown eyes held previously unseen ferocity. Khalon denied her order and fought against the energy surrounding him. Taranee and Irma were blown backwards into Cornelia as the two adversaries pushed each other's wills to the extreme. Hay Lin and Li watched from the spot they was fallen, wondering what was happening.

Gripping the crystal firmly in his hand, Khalon saw a flash of blue light out of the corner of his eye, wondering what it was. He heard five sets of feet touch down on the ground behind him and an astonished gasp. A bolt of crackling lightning met Khalon's back between his two wings, sending him flying away from Will.

"Stay away from my mother," Brianna commanded. Her eyes held as much fire as Alexis'.

"Don't worry," Khalon smiled as he got to his feet, "that won't be an issue anymore." He held up the severed red ribbon that was around Will's neck only moments before; the red jewel dangling from it.

* * *

Dun dun dun… what faces the guardians now? How will they survive? **SEND ME REVIEWS**! You don't know how hard I've worked on this story, please just send me a simple review telling me how much I you it! one more chapter until the first arc is over! 


	9. Feathers in the Wind

**I do not own W.I.T.C.H.** Alexis and Brianna haven't killed Onofire yet! Yay!

* * *

**Chapter ****9) ****_Feathers in the Wind_**

Will blinked open her brown eyes, recovering from the backlash of hitting her head against the cement. She looked into her daughter's cerulean orbs as the young guardian stood over her mother. The gentle, fall breeze stirred Brianna's outfit and brushed against Will's face. Will slowly shifted and got to her feet. Brianna helped her mother up and watched her survey the situation. Her lips formed a tight line when she noticed Khalon brandishing her necklace in the air like a trophy. His eyes were filled with energy from the new power the jewel held; he felt it course through him, residing in his being.

Where the blue fold to Candracar had once been open like a doorway, Raquel, Jaden, Alexis, Ulani, and Onofire stood in its place, watching. Khalon noticed that he had guessed correctly, there were two sets of guardians. He looked at them all, judging them for weaknesses. He spotted Li and Hay Lin, still on the ground after their dive to get away. Li was trying to help Hay Lin to her feet with little success.

"Now to eliminate the guardian threat," Khalon said, wearing an eager wolf's grin. Holding the jewel in his hand, he directed it at Li and Hay Lin. A rope of fire burst forth, flying at the two girls on the ground.

"Hay Lin!" called the older guardians, hoping she would be able to move in time. Hay Lin and Li watched as the flames flew towards them. Thinking fast, Hay Lin swung her arm out in front of them, sending a small gust of wind at the fire. The flames parted and landed around them, barely missing. Li got to her feet and glared at Khalon as Irma and Taranee raced over to help Hay Lin. The Chinese girl ran at Khalon, much to his surprise, ready to aim a punch at him. The king rolled his eyes and pushed her aside as he came within reach.

"Li!" called Hay Lin, "don't!" Hay Lin watched the girl roll across the roof and felt helpless as she watched Khalon set her, Taranee, and Irma in his sights again.

"I won't miss _this_ time," Khalon promised. The guardians watched Khalon, not sure how to help without getting in the way. Li turned over and watched as the winged man held out the red crystal, aiming it at the Hay Lin, Irma, and Taranee. Determination written on her face, Li jumped to her feet and ran at Khalon again. The king did not see Li until she had leapt into the air. Spinning, Li kicked the crystal from the man's hand and received an elbow in the stomach for her efforts. She spun backward and hit the cement as the crystal clinked to the ground next to her. Standing up, Li placed her foot over the red, glass orb. Khalon's eyes widened with understanding at what she was about to do.

"Don't you dare," he snarled. Li shifted her weight and stepped on the jewel.

"Li, wait!" Will called, "don't do it!" The girl looked up and felt the glass crack under her feet. A whirlwind of power exploded from the jewel. Khalon watched the crystal emit a cloud of power from under Li's feet and folded away to escape. Li was blown backwards into Hay Lin and the other girls. The guardians crossed their arms over their faces and stood their ground, trying to wait out the winds.

"What's going on?!" shouted Alexis.

"The powers from the crystal are being freed!" answered Jaden. Ulani and Onofire pulled their wings in front of themselves to act as personal shields and fought not to be blown away. Icy wind, hungry flames, a fierce sandstorm, and a small thunderstorm with bullet raindrops quickly filled the roof top. The eleven girls felt the elements around them, fierce and vengeful. Closing their eyes, the five guardians, Li, and Onofire waited out the explosion.

As the smoke and dust cleared, a collective gasp echoed throughout the rooftop. Li stood amongst ten fully, teal and pink, costumed girls. Cornelia, Will, Taranee, Hay Lin, and Irma held let their jaws drop in astonishment as they looked at themselves. They each had lost a few years, making them all feel thirty, as they had been only a few years ago. Their outfits were the same as they remembered, even down the swirly designs.

"We're guardians again!" Cornelia exclaimed.

"How'd this happen?" asked Irma.

"Hey," Hay Lin smiled, taking to the sky, "I'm healed!"

"Why did this happen?" questioned Will.

"Our powers that Nerissa trapped in the crystal must have come back to us when Li broke it," Taranee answered. The young guardians approached the predecessors with Onofire following them. Li looked on, watching her mentor, Hay Lin, flying through the air on dinky, little, butterfly wings. Pressing her hand to her head, the Chinese girl was not sure if she was seeing things or not. Hay Lin landed near her and put her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Li, why don't go inside and lay down," Hay Lin instructed, "you've had enough excitement for one day." Li nodded and walked towards the fire escape.

"Is she ok?" asked Raquel as Li disappeared down the steal stairs. Hay Lin nodded.

"What do we do now?" asked Alexis, looking to the older guardians.

"We need to find the king," Ulani voiced. Onofire nodded.

"He got away though," Jaden sighed.

"No," Ulani replied, "he really wants to control the Earth. He'll come back, if he hasn't already."

"Over there!" pointed Hay Lin, doing a back flip, enjoying her newfound mobility, "I think I see a blue light, it might be a fold."

"Let's go!" ordered Will. She took to the air on her wings and flew in the direction Hay Lin had pointed. The older guardians followed her in their usual formation followed by the new girls. Ulani and Onofire easily out-flew the others, staying just behind the older girls. Brianna and Alexis struggled to keep their flight paths straight and came close to crashing on multiple occasions. Raquel and Jaden had a better time, but they still felt themselves lagging behind.

"Hurry up girls!" called Irma, pausing her flight. Ulani and Onofire passed her on their feathered wings as she waited for the others. Jaden and Raquel flew by, turning to see how the last two guardians were coming along. Irma rolled her eyes as Brianna and Alexis whizzed forward bickering. She flew between them and forced them onward without another word. Will landed in the park and watched the king of Rokador step through the blue vortex. The winged man was surprised to see the guardians, all ten of them, landing around him.

Springing into action, the older guardians attacked. With her powers at full strength, Cornelia called upon the earth and sent three giant boulders flying through the air at the King. Dodging the earth, Khalon was hit with a blast of water from Irma. Soaking wet, the King of Rokador avoided Will's bolt of lightning only to be hit by Hay Lin and Taranee's combined attack of a large fire tornado. Jaden and Brianna watched their mother's work with the other girls on their team, trying to defeat Khalon.

"Their powers might be at full strength now, but they are growing ever weaker," Ulani said, landing near Raquel. Jaden and Alexis nodded as they saw Ulani's statement was true. Their power boost seemed only temporary; the older guardians' abilities seemed to be receding with every attack. The five younger girls and Onofire hovered, simply watching, again, not sure how to aid without getting in the way.

"Uncle!" called Onofire. His uncle glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, but turned back to the battle when Will sent a bolt of energy at him.

"Stop!" exclaimed Ulani, "stop fighting Now!" The girls paused and turned to her. Onofire stepped out from behind the four other girls and Ulani to face his uncle.

"Onofire, you should be back in Rokador," Khalon frowned, "why are you here?"

"I needed to hear it from you," explained Onofire, "what do you intend to do with their powers?"

"Onofire," said Khalon, annoyance in his voice as he looked to the ten girls surrounding him, ready to attack, "can't this wait?"

"No!" Onofire stated, "I need to know if you intend to, to, well, cheat me out of my birthright to rule!"

"Onofire," sighed the king, "who would put such a _ridiculous_ idea in your mind? When I returned, I intended to hand over the throne to you."

"He's lying," mumbled both Hay Lin and Ulani. They turned to each other with astonishment. Ulani realized that this must be a special ability of her that went along with her powers over air. Onofire heard both girls mumble those words at the same time, having no way to coordinate it and turned back to his uncle.

"Liar!" exclaimed Onofire. In two steps he closed the gap between his uncle and himself, pulling his right hand into a tight fist. His balled-up hand made contact with his uncle's face. Onofire readied for another hit, but he instead was thrown backward as his uncle flung his black wings out, pushing him away. The girls saw the sunlight catch on something as Onofire was thrust backward. As the prince hit the ground, he pressed his hand to his chest. Pulling it up, he saw it was coated in red blood. His shirt had been sliced through, exposing his injuries to the girls and his uncle.

"I must thank you my nephew," Khalon grinned, "I would have never thought to use these feathers as weapons." Khalon stood over Onofire, ready to deliver the final blow. Ulani stepped forward and sent a powerful blast of wind at her former king. She blasted him backwards, away from Onofire and into a tree. A barrage of attacks pummeled Khalon. Closing his wings tight around himself, he managed to shield himself from the flames Taranee and Alexis threw at him and the energy that Brianna and Will sent his way. Niece and aunt blasted the king with jets of cold water, hoping to knock him away from the tree, but the liquid simply slid off his wings. The droplets of water that did find a resting place on his wings was frozen by the gale-force gusts sent screaming his way by Hay Lin and Ulani. Jaden paused to try and see a weakness and watched her mother attack by rooting his feet to the ground and throwing several boulders his way.

Khalon opened his wings, sending shards of ice into the air and raining down on the girls. Making to escape, Khalon ripped through the plants at his feet and ran. Ulani swooped down and sent a gust of air at him. The breeze caught his wings and sent him tumbling head over heels into another tree. As he stood, Jaden thought of an idea.

Reaching out her hands, she willed the ground beneath a distracted Khalon's feet to become soft and mushy, like quicksand. The ground rebelled at first, not willing to transform into sand, but it slowly shifted. The topsoil changed easily, but it was beyond Jaden's ability to turn the rest of the hard, packed dirt over. Cornelia saw her daughter's struggles and called Irma to her side to help. The two girls, adding water on top of Khalon to sink into the ground while soaking him, quickly forced the dirt to shift over to smooth grains of sand. Khalon, brushing the water off of his soaked wings, struggled to free himself from the sand-trap. The king sunk up to his waist before he stopped thrashing.

"You think quicksand can stop me?" Khalon laughed.

"You looked pretty _stopped_ to me," Alexis grinned. Khalon bore a grin as he crossed his wrists in front of his chest. Slowly pulling them apart, the guardians watched him form a shield of grey light in front of him.

"He knows about magic?" questioned Taranee, shock apparent in her voice.

"Faris didn't even know magic _existed_!" Irma stuttered, "how does he-"

"You have good memories guardians," Khalon laughed. Spreading his arms out and pulling them to the ground, he changed his simple shield into a grey bubble. Watching the magic seep into the ground, the girls knew what was going to happen next. Alexis blasted fire at the shield, hoping to draw his attention to her. Khalon only laughed louder. The bubble encased him fully and dissolved the earth trapping him. He rose into the air, just high enough so his feet were even with the ground, and the bubble vanished, leaving Khalon free to attack the girls.

Watching him send a small ball of his grey colored magic at Will, Ulani noticed something she had neglected to see before. As Khalon attacked each of the girls, his special folding feathers on his wings pulsated with light, yet the rays of sun never came near them. She watched as Brianna and Raquel collaborated with their processors and blasted electrified water at him. The king cringed slightly and sent a blast of his magic at them. Will and Irma were blasted backward into some bushes. Brianna and Raquel skidded a few feet, but regained their balance and looked to attack him again.

Ulani watched the action and quickly calculated a plan while Cornelia, Hay Lin, and Taranee worked to distract the king.

"Brianna, Raquel!" called Ulani. The two guardians hurried over and listened to Ulani's plan. They nodded and took their positions.

"_Alexis_," called Ulani mentally, "_you and Jaden are the distraction_!" Alexis nodded to herself and pulled Jaden closer to attack.

"Raquel," Ulani instructed, "I need you send two arrows of water at King Khalon's feathers, the shiny ones. Brianna, send a lightning bolt at the same spot right after the water." Brianna and Ulani nodded and began. Raquel spotted Khalon's special feathers after Alexis sent a tornado of fire, with Hay Lin's help, straight for him. Narrowing her brown eyes to aim, she directed two darts of water towards the dancing targets. Ulani put her hands to her mouth and blew out a breath of icy air, directing it after the water with her hands. The wind froze the water as it flew, transforming the fluid attack into two icy knives. Brianna formed a ball of energy in her palm and threw it at Khalon.

The king fought off the five girls as best he could; Will and Irma slowly got to their feet and prepared to join the battle once more. Distracted, Khalon did not notice that he had turned his back to the Brianna, Raquel, and Ulani. The icy shards hit their mark hardly a second after with the electricity matching it in another moment. The ice sliced through the two feathers' bony center, where it connected to Khalon's wing, and left a deep gash. Brianna's electric attack severed the connection, freeing the two feathers from their master. Feeling the intense pain of losing a part of his wings, Khalon collapsed onto his knees and let out a blood-chilling, screaming growl. The shield of grey magic dissolved the instant his feathers became free of their master.

Smiling and reaching out her hand, Cornelia used her telekinetic powers and pulled the feathers through the air and into her hand. Hissing to herself as one of the edges cut into her palm, she carefully adjusted them in her hand as the other girls attacked Khalon. The winged king of Rokador was hit with all the elements at once. Elements united, fire and electricity, earth and water, and finally, a kiss of frigid air, sealed the deal. As the smoke cleared, the guardians prepared to continue the fight, but stopped when they saw what had become of the king; he was frozen in a block of thick ice.

"Brianna," sighed Will, "open a fold to Candracar." Brianna pulled out the Heart of Candracar and swiped it across the air in front of her. A blue fold appeared from nothing and led them to Candracar, the center of infinitely. Cornelia and Irma pushed the frozen king through the fold and Ulani lifted Onofire up from the ground and helped him walk through the blue vertex.

"Guardians!" greeted the Oracle. His voice echoed throughout the hall and the domed building, "this is an odd turn of events." The older girls nodded their agreement.

"Oracle," Will began.

"What should we do with him?" asked Irma, pointing to Khalon over her shoulder with her thumb.

"It would be ill-advised to lock him up as his brother was," the Oracle said, he glanced to Onofire who was leaning on Ulani's shoulder, "we would not want to spark _more_ hostilities between our two worlds in _a third _generation.

"Let me take my uncle back with me then," Onofire spoke. He pushed away from the guardian of air and stood up by himself, wobbling only slightly. His shirt was covered with drying blood around the slash marks and frayed fabric.

"That seems to be the best plan of action," the Oracle replied.

"But we can't just let him go home," Irma stated, shocked, "he might escape, or cause more damage!"

"May I have my uncle's feathers?" asked Onofire, looking to Cornelia.

"Um, sure," Cornelia replied, "careful." She handed over the razor edged feathers, watching as Onofire held them where they'd been severed.

"Without these, my uncle can't escape my watch," Onofire spoke, "and he has no power."

"But what if he tries to steal them back?" asked Hay Lin, "will they be safe with you?"

"_I_ won't be the one keeping them," Onofire replied, "they will be in much safer hands, somewhere my uncle can never get to." Onofire placed the two feathers on top of each other and crossed the room from Cornelia back to Ulani while fiddling with his own wings. "They'll be safe on Earth." The Prince of Rokador handed the two feathers to Ulani. She carefully took them and noticed a third feather, a soft, normal feather, in the pile, cushioning her hands from the razor edges of the other two. Ulani gasped when she realized the third feather belonged to Onofire.

Alexis let an all-knowing smile creep across her face as Ulani blushed. Onofire turned and opened a red fold to Rokador. He pushed his frozen uncle through the fold and paused before following him.

"I promise to be a better ruler then my uncle was," Onofire told Ulani. His golden eyes met her grey ones, almost as if he could see through into her soul. "Then maybe one day, you'll want to return." Ulani nodded and gave the prince a smile. He smiled back and walked through the red fold. It vanished, leaving no trace.

"You could have gone with him," Jaden said, placing her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"No," Ulani replied, a tear slid down her face, "I'm not ready to go back for good, not yet."

"How did you even get here?" asked Alexis, "I mean, your boyfriend there didn't make you a fold to earth."

"Alexis," Raquel said, rolling her eyes, "do not tease Ulani."

"I have an answer to that," the Oracle replied. The ten guardians looked to him, remembering he was still there. "I opened a fold to Earth that Ulani escaped through."

"I thought you weren't supposed to do that," Taranee frowned.

"I'm not," the Oracle said, "but I did, and time has yet to stand still in protest."

"Thank you," cried Ulani. Closing her hand carefully around the three feathers, she wrapped her hands around the Oracle and embraced him.

"Can she do that?" whispered Irma, jokingly.

"Irma," laughed Hay Lin and Will, elbowing her in the arm.

**--- **

The blue fold closed the passageway to Candracar a moment later. The ten guardians stood outside in Jaden's backyard, still fully costumed. The older girls faced each of the younger ones, the next generation of guardians. Hay Lin watched Ulani tense her hand that held the three feathers, making sure that none of them fell.

"Brianna," Will announced, "hold out the Heart of Candracar." Brianna followed her mother's directions and held out her hand, holding the heart in her palms. Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin formed a semi circle around the new keeper of the heart, joining hands. The older girls closed their eyes and followed Taranee's mental instructions. Their elemental powers flowed between them, combining and being physically transferred from their bodies into the heart. The Heart of Candracar absorbed the last bits of elemental magic the W.I.T.C.H. girls had to offer and glowed a content pink. Changing back into their normal clothing, Will and the others watched the girls, noting that all the power now rested safely in new hands.

* * *

Arc 1 complete! The next arc should be up soon, I can't wait! **Send me reviews on how you liked it** (Yes, Hay Lin is now fully healed forever!) Can you guess what's next to come? 


	10. Arc II Changes in the Air

**I do not own W.I.T.C.H.** (from now on the original girls won't play _as big_ of a part, I think…) ARC 2 begins! For those of you who have read the comic series (I finally found a site with all of the comics, well most of them (see my profile under links)) I took some ideas from the "Ludmore" section on the elements, but it won't be the same type of thing… Did I mention I might be adding some new villains? (They're not from Rokador… ) I have no idea how long these chapters should be in the future…

* * *

**Arc 2-**Tests of the Elements

**Chapter ****1**_** Changes in the Air**_

The hands on the clock in Jaden's kitchen clicked into the six o'clock position. Yawning, Jaden and Ulani sat at the breakfast table with the blond's parents. Cornelia and Caleb were far more awake then either of the younger girls. Ulani glanced around the room, pulling her wings closer to her body with nervousness. Freeing her wings, her fingers flew to her ebony hair, threading the strands between her fingers. Between her silky locks, her hands found a soft feather, a jet black one she had just tied into her hair that morning. It was so different from her own snow white feathers, but she felt it would remind her of her birth world and her unspoken promise to return there one day. The doorbell rang, sending everyone to their feet.

"Finally," sighed Cornelia. She stood up and walked out of the room to let in the visitor. She returned with a girl who resembled her slightly, as if they were sisters.

"Jaden," Cornelia announced, "this is your aunt, Aunt Lillian. You've met once when we first moved here." Jaden smiled and tried to hold back a yawn, but she failed. Lillian suppressed a laugh and caught the yawn from her niece.

"Now, why did you call me over?" asked Lillian, looking around the kitchen. She spotted Ulani and sighed, nodding to herself. "Let me guess."

"Yeah," Cornelia smiled, "can you glamour her wings so she can go out and look normal when she's not a guardian?"

"Yeah, I can do that," Lillian frowned. Ulani stood up and walked over to Cornelia's sister. Lillian reached out with her right hand, stopping just short of touching Ulani's wings, and moved her hand in small circles. Her palm glowed with blue and green lights as she watched Ulani's feathered wings slowly vanish. When her wings were gone, Ulani panicked.

"But they're still there right?" she questioned, spinning in a tight circle to try and see behind herself.

"Yes," laughed Lillian, "you can't see or even feel them when you aren't transformed."

"But doesn't glamouring just hide? You didn't really make her wings disappear did you?" asked Caleb, remembering the time Matt tried to use it to _give _him wings.

"It's a new trick I just learned," Lillian smiled, glancing over her shoulder at Caleb, "they'll only appear when she's a guardian."

"Thanks sis," smiled Cornelia, "girls, you should get ready for school."

"Ok," replied Jaden. The blond disappeared up the stairs pulling Ulani with her. The three adults stood in the kitchen, watching them.

"You're lucky you called me today," Lillian told her sister, "I'm leaving on my honeymoon tomorrow."

"Where are you going?" asked Cornelia, pouring herself and Caleb each a glass of orange juice.

"We're heading to Paris, France," Lillian answered.

"You sure took your time getting married," Cornelia smiled. She set down the glasses of juice on the table.

"Well, I'm sorry I have a more self control then you do," mocked Lillian, "I didn't thrust right into parenthood." Caleb choked on his orange juice and watched the two sisters playfully fight as he recovered.

Fleeing upstairs, the two girls darted into their rooms to change. Jaden pulled on a red sweater and a pair of jeans to ward off the approaching cold weather. Pulling out her braid she brushed her golden hair, fluffing the waves from braid. She let her hair hang free and hurried from her room.

Ulani changed, pulling on a pair of Jaden's old pants and a long-sleeved, green shirt. She looked at herself in her floor length mirror, touching her shoulder blades, wondering how Jaden's aunt had made her wings disappear. She let her hand reach up and stroke the black feather in her hair, the only thing that remained from Rokador she had now.

The doorbell rang and Ulani jumped. She hurried downstairs and smiled at Alexis. The girl, even though it was only forty degrees outside, was dressed in a short Japanese, schoolgirl type skirt and cream colored halter top. To her credit, she _was_ wearing a fur lined coat and a red, knitted scarf. Jaden grabbed her bag, leading Ulani and Alexis outside.

"So, how did Ulani's wings disappear?" asked Alexis, letting her eyes rest on Ulani, studying her.

"My aunt Lillian has her own type of magic," Jaden explained, "she's like the heart of Candracar, except she's a person. She made Ulani's wings disappear so she could go to school."

"So you're a guardian, your mom _was_ a guardian, and your Aunt is like what, the heart of earth right? Your father's the only normal one in your family," Alexis said.

"Well," Jaden countered, "back when my mom was my age, he was in charge of leading the rebellion in Meridian to put Kyra's mom back on the throne."

"Ok," Alexis said, taking back what she had said and turned to Ulani, "but really Ulani, who would _want _to go to school?"

"I read through all of the books in the house, even the old textbooks and the books Jaden's studying from," Ulani explained, "I'm bored."

"She has to go to the academic center today so she can take some placement tests," Jaden explained to Alexis. She nodded and they finished the rest of their walk in silence.

---

Ulani followed Jaden into the academic office. She listened half-heartedly to Jaden as she talked with the plump lady behind the desk. The Rokadorian girl promised to meet Jaden at lunch and followed the round lady into a room in the back.

Sitting down in an empty desk, Ulani picked up a sharpened pencil and waited for the lady to hand her the packet of tests. The stack was as thick as Jaden's history book; she turned to the first page and almost laughed out loud at the ease of the questions. Scribbling down the answers to the basic math problems, she looked up and studied the teacher. She sat deep in her swivel chair, her bespectacled eyes hidden behind the pages of a magazine. Turning back to the test, Ulani sped through the pages. Slowly, the math problems became harder, changing from simple algebra to geometry and finally progressing onto the basics of calculus before Ulani was challenged. When she found herself at a loss on how to solve the math problems, she moved onto the reading and science portions of the test.

The clock on the wall lazily spun its hands in a circle, counting down the three hours until her lunch break. Throughout her placement test, Ulani listened as the halls filled and emptied as the classes ended and started again. She caught snatches of conversation through the two closed doors even though the teacher had yet to stir.

Closing her packet of papers, Ulani looked up and handed the stack to the teacher. She was directed to the lunch room and hurried off. Traversing through the halls, Ulani quickly found the cafeteria. Jaden waved her over and pushed a plate of food her way.

"How was the test?" asked Alexis.

"Easy," Ulani replied. She picked up a fork and speared the seemingly healthy food on her plate.

"Easy?" questioned Alexis, her face held disbelief.

"Up until the section labeled calculus in the math part I knew what I was doing, and I didn't know anything about chemistry, but the language section was easy," Ulani told the three girls.

"Why did you have to take this test?" asked Rachel, her English improving with each day.

"They need to know what classes to put her in," Jaden explained, "since she doesn't have any past records of schooling, my mom told the school all her papers were lost when she moved here. It's not _all_ a lie."

"But Rokador didn't look like the home of scholars, how are _you_ so smart if you didn't go to school. Did you have really rich parents or something?" asked Alexis.

"I pretty much lived in the library," Ulani explained, dropping her grey eyes to her still almost full plate of food; her stomach still protested at eating so much food in one serving. At Alexis' comment, memories of Rokador flooded her mind; her left hand deftly twirled the feather in her hair. "I had nothing better to do, nowhere better to go." The bell rang, ending their conversation and dismissing the students from lunch. Ulani left the girls and made her way back to the academic office to finish the rest of the tests.

---

Ulani met Jaden after school and they began the journey home. They left Alexis at the park where the path split and walked the rest of the way home in silence. As soon as they entered through the front door, pulling off their coats and shoes, the doorbell rang. Jaden turned around and opened the wooden door.

Outside on the porch stood a mother and her teenage son, the Hale's neighbors. The mother sported a curly mop of black hair down to her shoulders, framing her sharp, light blue eyes. Her son fingered an expensive camera which hung from his neck, pretending he did not want to be there. His brown eyes meet Jaden's for a second before flicking back down towards his camera. Cornelia appeared from the kitchen with Ulani trailing behind her. The silence at the threshold of the house was broken by her voice.

"May I help you?" asked Cornelia.

"Oh no," smiled the lady, "we just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood." She held out a small, pound cake, her inquisitive, blue eyes darting around Cornelia and into the house.

"Thanks," Cornelia replied hesitantly, "but you _do_ know that we've lived here for eight years right?"

"Oh yes, and I apologize for not welcoming you sooner," replied the lady, "we live across the street by the way, I'm Laura Lee, and this is my son, Jacob Lee." Cornelia shook Laura's hand after she handed the cake to Jaden. Laura pushed herself into the house and looked around.

"What a nice house," Laura commented. Cornelia stood with her eyebrows raised as she watched the woman walk around her living room. Laura paused at the picture of Jaden and Kyra with the castle in the background before taking a seat on the couch.

"I must ask you," Laura finally said. Cornelia walked towards her as Caleb appeared from the kitchen. His green eyes darted from his wife to Laura and back again. Jaden, Ulani, and Jacob stood near the door, just barely inside the room. Seeing Caleb, the women bounced to her feet, her hair springing up with her, and vigorously shook his hand in hello.

"You must be Mr. Hale," she beamed, "I'm Laura Lee, we live across the street."

"Caleb," replied Caleb hesitantly.

"What beautiful girls," smiled Laura, changing the subject once again. Jacob, slowly, cautiously, entered the room and stood near his mother, walking away from the two girls. Ulani tugged at a piece of her ebony hair, her nimble fingers finding the black feather in seconds. Its sheen caught the light as well as Mrs. Lee's attention.

"That can't be real?" she asked, motioning to the feather, disgust showing on her face.

"Oh no," Jaden interrupted, "it's just from one of my broken dream catchers."

"Not to sound rude, but why are you here?" asked Caleb.

"Oh yes," laughed Laura, "I've forgotten. My son, Jacob, loves to take pictures. Yesterday, he used his last piece of film on an image of something in your backyard. Did you happen to see anything outside at precisely 4:27 yesterday?" Cornelia hid her sharp intake of breath with a rushed cough.

"No," replied Caleb rather hurriedly, "what was the picture of?"

"To tell you the truth, I myself don't even know," explained Mrs. Lee shrugging. "Jacob ran inside to get more film and didn't wait to see what it was."

"Do you have the picture?" asked Jaden. The photograph was handed over; Jaden almost dropped it in surprise. A blue, sparkling vortex glittered from within the confines of the glossy, photo paper.

"What is it?" asked Ulani, not able to see over Jaden's shoulder.

"That is what I would like to know," Mrs. Lee stated, "I trust you'll keep me posted if you see anything. I'll be at the nation's capital for the next month though, so it'll have to wait until then. I suppose you could tell my husband, though being the mayor, he has other worries. Oh, I've intruded long enough," Mrs. Lee stood and guided Jacob from the room, which was rather awkward looking since his teenage frame towered over her. The door closed with a quite snap.

"What was that about?" questioned Caleb, "in Meridian-"

"Yes Caleb, I know. In Meridian, people don't barge into other people's houses," Cornelia finished, "I lived there, remember?"

Jaden left the room, ignoring her parents squabble over the differences between Earth and Meridian. Slipping out the back door, she shivered. Flurries of soft, white powder floated down from the clouds, melting as they touched the grass. Jaden made her way over to the tree by the fence and lifted herself onto a high branch. Leaning back, she pulled her hair back into a quick braid and surveyed the yard. Movement caught her emerald, green eyes in the neighbor's yard. A red sweatshirt stood out from the rest of the grass as the boy within it moved towards the fence separating their two yards. Jaden jumped from the tree, bending her knees when she hit the ground from the ten or so foot drop. The ground grew soft as she landed, cushioning her fall.

Creeping along the fence like a silent fox, Jaden found the knothole in the wood that the boy was peeking through. A bright flash blinded her for a moment; she squeaked and stepped back, rubbing her eyes.

"I'm sorry," mumbled the boy on the other side of the fence. Jaden continued to rub her eyes.

"You're Jacob right?" asked the blond, "do you do that often?"

"I haven't been home lately," he answered, "but back in July I did get some good shots of your yard." Jaden's mind thought back to July of that year, a time before she had found out who she was. Her mind then jumped to the hours she had spent at the poolside in her bright, canary yellow bikini and hopped he had not been watching.

"Who are you?" asked Jaden. She lifted herself up on top of the wooden fence to talk face to face with him. Staring into his oddly, dark, brown eyes through the knothole had felt strangely personal and almost intimate.

"You heard my mother," Jacob sighed, "I'm Jacob Lee, son of Mayor Lee. I've been away at a privet school on the east coast, but my mom wants me home again because my older sister got into Oxford and she's worried she'll be lonely."

"So you'll be going to Sheffield?" asked Jaden.

"I'll be a junior," Jacob nodded, silence settled between them. Jaden's hand gently tugged on her braid.

"That feather," Jacob began, "I've never seen one like that, and I've photographed a lot of birds. Why did you lie to my mom, it's not fake."

"I didn't want to make her angry," Jaden admitted.

"Smart move," laughed Jacob, he turned to his kitchen window, "I've got to go." Jaden slipped down from the fence, making her way back into the house. She took a seat next to Ulani at the kitchen table. The Rokadorian girl was silently reading the newspaper, her hands twisting a napkin as her eyes swept down the page.

The phone on the wall rang, startling both girls. Cornelia appeared from the hallway and picked up the screaming phone.

"Hello?" Cornelia spoke into the receiver. She was silent for a moment, "really? Both freshman and sophomore classes --- Ok, I will --- thank you, goodbye."

"Who was it?" asked Ulani, her grey eyes searching Cornelia's face for the answer.

"The school just called with your test results," Cornelia explained, "you've tested out of freshman and sophomore math and language and you'll be able to take sophomore level science. You'll be in regular history for your level though. The administrator told me that you should look through the classes offered and choose the ones at the appropriate levels." Ulani smiled and nodded

"Mom," Jaden said, "you _are_ going to order pizza for tonight right?" Cornelia laughed and nodded. Jaden returned the grin and hurried away to prepare and find Ulani the course booklet.

---

Giggling and soft light ebbed from Jaden's bedroom. Four girls, all dressed in colorful sleepwear, sat around on Jaden's bed and floor talking. Jaden smoothed her lime green pajama Capri pants as she got to her feet. She stepped around Alexis who was recalling her argument with her mother that day. Her streaked hair was tied up into two pony tails on each side of her head. Her outfit reflected that of her attire during the day.

Rachel, dressed in a baby blue robe and matching slippers, calmly braided Ulani's raven tresses. Ulani had on a pair Jaden's pajamas, the pants dragging on the ground when she would walk. She let Rachel continued to put her long hair into two braids, enjoying the gentle tugging as she worked.

The doorbell rang; Jaden jumped to the door and scurried down the stairs. Throwing open the door, Jaden returned the redhead's smile. She helped Brianna through the door with all her things, grabbing the blanket she held to assist. The two girls hurried up the stairs to Jaden's room. Brianna's smile vanished when she saw the other girls.

"Great, they're here too," Brianna scowled, rolling her blue eyes.

"When's the pizza coming?" asked Alexis, ignoring the redhead and turning to Jaden.

"Soon," came her reply. Ulani turned to Rachel; admiring the work she had done with her hair. The black feather had been safely tucked into one of the braids. Turning to the window, Rachel turned the others' attention to the sky.

Brianna followed Rachel and Ulani's eyes and moved closer to the window. Flipping the latch, she pushed open the heavy window. The crisp, almost winter air blew into the room, drawing the other four girl's attention again to the window.

"Come on," smiled Jaden, motioning for the girls to follow her. Ulani grabbed the blanket off the bed and trailed behind Alexis, Brianna, and Rachel as they followed Jaden up the stairs. They slipped through the balcony door and slid onto the shingled roof to watch the display in the sky.

"What is happening?" asked Rachel. The lights from the sky reflected on her face as she watched.

"It's a meteor shower," explained Ulani, her grey eyes locked on the shower of stars. The girls laid back on the roof and spread the blanket between them and the shingles. Flurries of snow drifted from the sparse clouds, yet the falling stars were unblocked by them.

A small burst of flame drew the five sets of amazed eyes to the same point.

"What happened?" asked Brianna.

"The meteor was too small and broke apart in the atmosphere," Ulani explained. Alexis turned to Brianna with a grin.

"Welcome to the party," she laughed.

----

The explosion echoed high above Heatherfield. The shattered shards of the look-alike meteorite broke apart and fell free from one another. As they fell faster, slipping through the air like oil through water, the pieces lost their exterior and shown in the moonlight. Seven identical orbs and one smaller orb emerged from the dusty coating they had been coated in. The iridescent spheres all shown like pearls as they dropped from the sky. Slowly, the wind pushed the eight orbs apart, separating the used-to-be single piece.

The lowest orb splashed into Heatherfield bay, slipping through the icy water. The water moved around the sphere, allowing it passage to the sandy, bay floor. The moment before the iridescent orb hit the bottom, it stopped, floating just less dense then the frigid water. The light shifted and the pearly sphere gave off a soft glow in the water's depth.

The next orb hit the dirt, bouncing without chipping or breaking at its terminal velocity. Rolling away from the point where it landed, the orb slid downhill towards a dying campfire. Breaching the rocks surrounding the wood, it nestled itself between the embers of the forgotten fire. Flaring to life, the fire crackled around the pearl orb. Absorbing the heat, the sphere took on its own glow.

Nearby, the third sphere to fall landed in a pile of boulders, wedging itself in-between two large rocks. The sphere illuminated the darkness, shining from its own newly generated power.

The forth orb, seemingly lighter than the previous three, caught the wind and was blown north of Heatherfield. Spiraling down, it clanked onto the metal turbine of a wind powered generator, nestling it's self in a small dent on the metal. Slowly, the wind blew around it, and it began to take on a glow of soft light.

The next falling object landed in downtown Heatherfield, landing between two exposed wires, completing the circuit. The energy flowed through the orb, shedding light through the dark.

The sixth orb came to rest in a smoke stack on a grate in the tall tower. The thick black smoke surrounded the orb, covering it with a blanket of dust.

The final two spheres, one the size of a tennis ball and the other the size of a marble, rolled into a small cave on the island in Heatherfield bay. Once inside, the larger sphere, the identical one to the other six, rolled onto a patch of ice and skidded to a halt. The ice collapsed under it, making a bed for it to rest. The smaller ball rolled past its sibling into the darkness of the back of the cave. Sensing the other orbs had been activated, it recorded where they all were located and absorbed the power of the substance the others had not yet found. Through the darkness and shadows, the orb took on its own glow…

* * *

The first chapter of the second arc. That took a very long time, I wanted to get it up for Christmas, but I couldn't… oh well. Tell me what you think! 


	11. An Orb of Blue

**I do not own W.I.T.C.H.** Alexis and Ty Lee (from Avatar) must have gone to the same school to find boys, because they both give the same advice!

* * *

**Chapter ****2) ****_An Orb of Blue_**

Just before the bell was suppose to ring, the hall bustled with students. Jaden, Alexis, and Rachel stood outside the academic office, waiting. Ulani appeared from within the office with a single sheet of paper. That Tuesday morning Ulani and Jaden had arrived early, trudging through the fresh three inch layer of powdery snow so Ulani could get her schedule set for the rest of the year.

"So?" questioned Rachel.

"They're making me take lunch," complained Ulani, handing over her class list.

"You're taking _six_ AP classes?" exclaimed Alexis.

"I would be taking more if I didn't _have_ to take lunch and gym," Ulani frowned.

"Why don't you want lunch?" demanded Alexis.

"And don't you like gym?" added Jaden. Before Ulani had a chance to respond the bell rang, flooding the halls with even more rushing students.

"When do you have lunch?" asked Rachel.

"6th period," Ulani said, "right after AP chemistry and before AP French.:"

"But I thought you were taking Spanish," Jaden said, grabbing Ulani's list.

"I am," Ulani answered, "I'm taking _two_ languages." The warning bell rang and Ulani turned on her heels, ebony hair flying, and hurried down the hall. The black feather flashed in her hair as she turned the corner and disappeared.

Rachel waved to Jaden and Alexis, and she hurried towards the English wing of the school. She collapsed in her desk just as the bell rang. Her teacher, a young woman just out of college, entered the room and begin passing out a worksheet on commas, subject verb agreement, and other basic grammar points. Rachel looked down the worksheet, reading the bold print at the top first; **Test Tomorrow**. Rachel groaned and let her head fall onto the desk, breathing in and out to calm herself. She felt her desk shudder as her partner slid his desk over. Rachel looked up and waited for him to start reviewing the problems.

"So what did you get for number three?" he asked. Rachel looked down at the question.

"I don't know, the sentence looks correct," Rachel said.

"Oh, well I think there should be a comma after the word teacher," replied her partner, "didn't you pay attention in class?"

"Yes," Rachel replied, "but I still don't get it. If I don't get a good grade on this test, I'll be in so much trouble."

"Do you need help?" asked her partner, "because you could come over and I could help you study tonight.

"Really?" asked Rachel, "that would be helpful."

"Ok," agreed her partner, "how about after five?" Rachel nodded and turned back to her worksheet with a renewed vigor as she tried to finish the worksheet. The next four periods of the day passed without incident. At lunch, Rachel met with Jaden, Alexis, and Ulani and pulled out her lunch.

"-all the class had no idea," Ulani said, finishing her sentence; her lunch had not been touched.

"So, I'm going to see if we can get Brianna to meet to practice tonight," Jaden told the girls.

"I can't," Rachel interrupted, "I'm studying with my partner tonight for my English test.

"Who?" asked Alexis.

"Cody Grant," Rachel answered, looking through her lunch bag.

"A boy?" grinned Alexis.

"Alexis," Ulani laughed, "don't."

"But she needs to know how to act, it's her first date!" Alexis exclaimed.

"No!" shouted Rachel, her face heating up to a violent shade of chili pepper red, "it's just a study date!"

"Sure," grinned Alexis, "remember now, look cute, and remember to laugh at everything he says, no matter how stupid it sounds." Rachel gave up trying to explain that he was just helping her study and looked to her lunch. "-study dates are a way to see if you should give the boy a chance, you've been invited to his house, so-" She droned on about scenarios that would never happen, but then advised her that the boy had already taken an interest in her and she should do whatever it would take to stay on his good side.

---

Rachel made her way up the driveway of the large house, not too far away from Brianna's, the address of Cody's house. The brass letters on the mailbox read GRANT for all to see. She rang the doorbell and waited, hearing footsteps on the other side of the door. Cody pulled the door open and welcomed her inside. He led her through the kitchen, past the indoor pool, and into the family room. The room had a vaulted ceiling and three large fish tanks lining the three walls of the room. The fourth opened into the dining room. Rachel smiled as she saw fish swimming placidly around the glass aquarium. On the coffee table, the dreaded, red grammar book sat, turned to a page with a book mark. The black folder which held all of Cody's English worksheets lay next to it.

"Should we start?" asked Cody, scratching the back of his head. Rachel nodded. They each settled down on the opposite side of the table. Cody began a series of questions involving where to put commas and their uses in sentences. After missing the first one, Rachel immediately thought back to lunch, wondering if Cody had really intended to study the whole time and if he liked her at all. What if he thinks I'm dumb! Rachel asked herself, dreading not having him to help her in class anymore. She looked up and saw him staring at her.

"What?" she asked, her heart pounding.

"You stopped answering the questions," came Cody's simple answer. Rachel allowed him to continue, her nervousness building with each question she got wrong. Just as she was about to lose control and burst from the tension, she closed her eyes and clenched her fists tight to try and relieve the stress. A buzzing interrupted her thoughts and Cody looked down. He pulled out his cell phone and answered the call.

"Hello? --- Oh hi Mia!" smiled Cody, he stood up and asked Rachel to give him a minute, his voice floated into the room as he left, "I haven't forgotten about Friday, don't worry, I can't wait to see you!" Rachel sat nervously looking down at the book, trying to drive her mind from the fact that Cody probably had a girlfriend and he was talking to her now. He walked back into the room as he closed the phone and sat back down.

"Sorry Rachel," he apologized, "where were we?" Rachel jumped in surprise and realized that he was back in the room, her anxiety mounted once more. The fish tanks around the room suddenly shattered, sending shards of glass, waves of water, and a collection of colorful fish flying towards Rachel and Cody. Cody sprung to his feet in a mad dash to save the flopping fish, tripping over a vase of flowers in the process.

"Hurry!" he exclaimed in a mad panic, "help me save the fish!" Rachel starred opened mouthed, unblinking, at the soaked carpet and dyeing fish. She regained her senses and jumped up, scooping into her hands a fish. She turned, trying to find a place to put it with water so it would not die. The aquariums were shattered beyond use; Rachel almost tripped over the same vase Cody had and quickly came up with an idea. Cody had left the room to run into the kitchen. Flicking her wrist, the fishy water rose from the rug higher and faster then she had expected it to. The water flew up towards the ceiling leaving a spot in the perfect, white expanse.

Panicking, Rachel aimed the water towards the vase, only half of the liquid made it inside. She dropped the fish inside and scurried around the room to save the rest. Cody hurried into the room with a bucket of water from the kitchen.

"Where are all the fish?" he asked, scanning the room as he put down the bucket.

"In the vase," Rachel responded sheepishly. Cody peered inside and saw the fish swimming over one another. He poured the bucket of water into the vase to give the fish more water and leaned against the wall, sliding down to the ground; Rachel sat next to him.

"What happened?" mumbled Cody, he absentmindedly took a piece of glass in his hand and turned it over. Rachel shrugged, what **did** happen? Was it me who did that? How? It couldn't have been… could it?

"Rachel look," pointed Cody, "the glass didn't just break, it looks like it was stressed to the point of fracturing." Rachel saw the stretch marks, turned away, and bit her lip. Could I have made the water focus its energy and press on the glass to relieve my stress?

"Rachel?" asked Cody, waving his hand in front of her brown eyes.

"Huh?" responded Rachel, snapping back to reality.

"I asked if you were ok," he said, "maybe you should go home, you can take the study sheet, but you look dazed." Rachel nodded, accepted the piece of paper, and walked out the front door. Folding the paper and pressing it into her pocket, she made a left towards the beach instead of going right home. The night was slowly creeping closer, the lights of the city humming to life.

Rachel tried to focus on calming her breathing, taking deep breaths, in, then out, slowly returning to her previous state of mind. Holding her hand over the surf, Rachel flicked her wrist up, calling a stream of water to her. A tentacle of water rose from the bay, following her cues but growing twice the size she wanted. Holding her breath, Rachel flung her hand downward, sending the water back into the waves. Her sudden power vanished with the wind as she immediately felt drained. Struggling to keep her eyes open and on her feet, she stumbled away from the water. The wave of weakness passed after a moment.

"What is happening?" she mumbled. Turning her back to the water and the cool wind blowing off the waves, she trotted away from the beach and hurried home. The clouds seemed to build as she journeyed through the street along the houses. A fire truck screamed past her on the road, heading into the city. Rachel stepped through Aunt Irma's door and closed it behind her, leaning back on it and releasing a pent-up breath.

"Qué occuró a tú?" questioned Marisol, wondering what had happened to her sister as she jumped.

"Nothing," Rachel replied, Marisol gave her a look of incomprehension. Although Rachel knew her sister knew what she was saying, she repeated the word in Spanish, "nada." Marisol rolled her eyes in disbelief.

"Rachel," called Irma. The brunette disserted her sister at the doorway and entered the living room. Her father was seated on the couch, her mother seated next to him, flipping through the channels on the TV. Rachel leaned over the cushioned, brown sofa and watched as her father flipped past a multitude of channels; a surfer riding a wave, a tornado ripping through a house, a news reporter standing in front of a body of water with a strange creature behind her, and a cartoon about a cat flashed before her eyes.

"Wait, go back!" exclaimed Rachel. Chris complied and flipped back to the news report. Rachel watched as the news reporter held the microphone to her lips and pointed to a giant blue being in the middle of Heatherfield Bay. The creature had white laced sections crisscrossing its liquid body. Rachel watched with her father; Marisol and Irma peeked in to see what had caused the silence as the creature expanded and extended four tendrils of water from the body. Rachel heard Irma hold her breath and listened to the newscaster.

"-to be a strange creature from Heatherfield bay. Fire fighters, police, and a SWAT team have arrived at the scene and are working to keep this strange, and almost alien creature, from coming any closer to the city. We'll keep you updated on the story every ten minutes-" Rachel hurried into kitchen and grabbed the phone from its holder on the wall. Her fingers flew to the correct buttons as she dialed Jaden's number. Pressing the phone to her ear, she waited, tensing each time the phone rang that Jaden did not pick up.

"Hello?" came Jaden's voice in the receiver.

"Jaden, have you seen the news --- no? well there's this giant creature in the bay and we have to do something about it, I just know it! --- ok --- yes I can do that --- met at Shell Beach ok --- ok, bye," Rachel hung up the phone and jumped when she saw her sister standing in the doorway of the kitchen, watching.

"Dónde estas viendo?" she questioned, as she watched Rachel grab her coat from the chair.

"None of your business!" shouted Rachel as she ran outside and let the door slam shut behind her. Running as fast her legs would carry her, Rachel hurried to Shell Beach. She hoped Jaden had called Brianna and Alexis and that they were on their way. Skidding to a halt, Rachel let her jaw drop in awe as she looked up at the creature in the bay. It stood as tall as the buildings in downtown Heatherfield, slowing inching towards the crowded city. Two helicopters circled it from above, shining their spotlights upon it.

Hearing panting, Rachel turned and saw the four other girls hurrying towards the beach. Brianna looked less than thrilled as Alexis pulled her down the sidewalk; her outfit suggested she had been pulled from a formal outing. Ulani and Jaden halted first, breathing hard to catch their lost breath. Alexis and Brianna came to a rest soon after. Throwing Alexis' hand off her arm, she scowled at the eldest member of the group.

"What is it?" asked Ulani, pointing to the giant creature in the lake. The other girls joined her gaze as they stared at the being, slowly inching towards the skyscrapers of the city.

"Did you bring the heart?" asked Alexis.

"Of course I brought the heart!" snapped Brianna. She pulled it out of her pocket and held the crystal by its string. "Guardians Unite!" The girls transformed in a blink of light.

"Water!"

"Fire!"

"Earth!"

"Air!"

"Quintessence!" The five guardians took to the sky. Ulani spun in a tight circle, examining her feathered wings in happiness. Joy radiated from her as she swooped and spiraled, happy to take to the sky once again. Fire burned in Alexis' brown eyes as she eyed the creature in the bay. She shot forward, followed by the other girls and approached the monster. It loomed larger and larger each second they flew closer; soon they saw the magnitude of the opponent they faced. The ocean, blue monster towered above them at least seven stories, the four swinging tendrils of white, foam laced water had expanded into five. The center one stood in the center, unmoving as its siblings swung in wild circles. The waves crashed and merged with the base of the creature, aiding to its growth as the tide came in.

Alexis swung her hands in front of her and blasted a stream of fire in the direction of the being. Since the monster was so large, her bad aim did not matter and her fire blasts hit one of the tendrils. The fire mixed with the water, severing the connection and causing the water to fall back into the bay.

"Yeah!" shouted Alexis, her smile faded as the monster re-grew the lost appendage. Ulani tried next, sending a hurricane of wind towards the creature to try and freeze it still. Jaden extended her arm towards the beach and waved it in front of her, a stream of dry sand flying under her direction into the liquid body of the monster. The air froze only sections of the being, sections which quickly sunk back to the water of the bay and floated away. The sand circled the being but had the same effect; the newly wet sand was absorbed into the monster's body and sunk to the bottom of the bay. Brianna pushed her red hair behind her ears and held out her arms, electricity running down their lengths. The bolt of energy hit the monster, pausing it for only a second.

"Nothing's working!" called Alexis.

"Rachel, why aren't you doing anything!" called Ulani, flying over to her to see what the problem was. "Rachel?" The guardian of water watched as the tower of water crept closer to downtown Heatherfield. A firm expression set on her face, her butterfly wings fluttered harder as she darted away from Ulani and the other girls, heading straight for the water creature. Flying low to the water, she reached out and pulled a thick rope of liquid with her. Flying upside down, she pulled the stream of icy water through the air with her, encircling the creature. The other girls continued their attacks as she worked. She avoided one of Alexis' stray fire balls, but she did not see the thrashing tentacle that flung her way. The water hit her hard, sending her spiraling into the depths of the bay. Rachel felt the pressure build in her ears, but she ignored it, her mind numbing as she sank deeper.

Opening her brown eyes, she saw the monster extend from the sand of the bay up to above the water. The water had a frosty edge to it; Rachel felt her fingers numbing. Her breath was running short, yet her primal instincts to find air were overridden by something else. She knew the water would never hurt her somehow; her eyes felt heavy as her heart thudded wildly in her chest.

A sparkle caught her eye, waking her from her trance. Looking past the denser, darker water that made up the trunk of the water monster, a small sparkle appeared again. Pushing past all her basic instincts, Rachel forced open her eyes in the salty water and swam towards the shining object. Her powers over the element that surrounded her were forgotten as she kicked through the thicker water that made up the creature. Using her last stores of breath, Rachel pushed through the jelly like liquid and reached out to grasp the object. Dusting it off from the silty, sandy bottom, she held a luminescent orb in her hand. No larger than a billiard ball, it shown with a light all its own in the dark depths of the bay.

--- ---

Ulani noticed the creature had paused in its journey towards the city. She summoned another blast of wind and directed it at the water monster. The water froze over easily unlike the first few times she had tried; something had changed. Brianna spun in the air, sending a bolt of energy at the creature. Instead of being absorbed, the energy pulsed through the monster's water body, lighting it up like a Christmas tree. The girls paused to see what would happen.

"Look, I think we're winning!" smiled Alexis.

"But where's Rachel?" questioned Jaden, searching the area with her green eyes.

--- ---

Rachel felt the blast of electricity reverberate through the entire length of her body. Gripping the orb closer to her body and tighter in her hands, her remaining energy was sapped from her. The orb took on a stronger glow as Rachel's last remaining bit of air escaped into the water as three small bubbles.

--- ---

"Look!" pointed Ulani. The girls hovered in the air above the monster watching as the main tentacle turned to them and then slowly dove into the water.

"Rachel!" exclaimed Jaden, "that thing has her! It must! Someone has to go get her!" No sooner had the words left her mouth that Alexis complied and closed her wings tight against her back. The wind whipped against her face as she gained speed in her five story high dive. She slid into the icy water with only a small splash and zoomed through the darkness. Forcing her eyes open in the salty water, she searched the water for Rachel. Instead of finding her teammate, she watched as the tendril of water sunk next to her, searching. Kicking her feet harder, Alexis felt the rock bottom of the bay and gasped, her remaining air escaping her lungs.

"Rachel!" shouted Alexis, but only bubbles left her mouth. Feeling the burning sensation in her lungs, Alexis propelled herself through the water and grabbed onto Rachel. The tentacle and the monster were dissolving around her as Alexis looped her arm around Rachel's still form. Her skin was cold, the guardian of water seemed lifeless as Alexis swam them both the surface above.

Only inches of water separated them from air when Alexis suddenly started sinking. She felt Rachel slide through her arms, and took a breath of water in her panicked state. The water rushed into her lungs, Alexis held tight to Rachel as she lost ground. A dull splash echoed in the water. A flash of blond and then red floated in her vision. The guardian of fire felt her arms being untangled from her teammate, and pulled up towards the air. She closed her eyes and let the cold wind greet her as she inhaled huge lungfuls of air.

"Alexis?" asked Jaden's voice in her ear, "can you hear me?!" Alexis coughed up water and nodded. Ulani flew over to Jaden and Brianna, guiding them to the beach. Brianna set Rachel on the sand next to where Jaden put Alexis and squeezed out her red hair. The redhead bit her lip, biting back her previous comment about getting her newly permanented hair wet as she watched Rachel's still form. Jaden reached over and shook Rachel's shoulders, trying to wake her.

"Is she ok?" asked Ulani, landing beside the girls on the beach. She pulled at her feathers with nervousness.

"Rachel!" called Jaden, shaking the girl's shoulders harder. Alexis sat up, a gentle noise filling her ears as she looked at Rachel. A small glint of pearl light flashed as the orb rolled out of Rachel's grasp. The moment it left Rachel's body, the glow vanished, leaving in its place a light blue colored orb.

"Rachel," pled Jaden. The guardian of water's brown eyes fluttered open at the sound of her name.

"Oh Rachel, thank goodness!" cried Ulani. Jaden pulled her up into a sitting position and wrapped her arms around her. Rachel coughed, regaining her stolen breath, and shivered in the wind.

"Where's the creature?" she asked, her voice shuddering as her body was racked by shivers.

"It disappeared," explained Ulani, "here, you dropped this." She picked up the orb and handed it to Rachel. Rachel examined it under the moon light and set it back down as she felt dizzy for fear she might drop it.

"What is it?" asked Alexis, slowly getting to her feet. A spot light from the sky suddenly found them on the beach as the noise rose in their ears.

"What's that?!" screamed Ulani, over the roaring noise. Rachel stuffed the orb in her shoe to keep from forgetting it.

"A helicopter!" explained Jaden, "hurry, we can't be seen!" Taking to the sky, Jaden and Brianna helped Rachel up while Ulani guided Alexis. The light followed them across the beach, past some astonished newscasters, but lost them as they darted around a building and into an alley. They transformed back into their clothing, still dripping wet, and waited as the spot light from the helicopter past over their hiding place.

"That was close," breathed Ulani, the only one who was not suffering from the wind chill on wet clothing.

"We'd better get home," Jaden said.

"I'm ready for a long, hot shower," Brianna agreed, squishing out her hair once more. Alexis walked with Rachel home as the other three girls went the other way. Rachel thanked her for saving her life, and slipped inside. She saw that she had spent more time then she thought out, the clock just past eight thirty as she slipped into her room.

"Dónde estaste?" questioned Marisol, looking over her math homework on her bed, "nuestras padres tuvieron miedo para tú. Y por que eres mojada?" Marisol looked over her sister as the water from the bay seeped through her clothing, wondering where she had disappeared to for two hours. Rachel ignored her sister's questions; she knew Aunt Irma would help her come up with an excuse at why she was gone, since she probably knew why anyway.

After a quick shower, Rachel made her way into the family room. She pulled out the orb and studied it once more. The pearl surface she remembered under the water had been replaced by a gentle, sky blue color. It was heavy in her hand, yet it could not have weighed more than a baseball. She carefully set it in one of the drawers to keep it safe.

"Rachel, good you're back," smiled Irma. Rachel pulled away from the drawer and let her aunt hug her, Irma added "You smell like salt."

"Still?" sighed Rachel.

"No," Irma laughed, "you got it all out."

"Good," sighed Rachel, "wait, then how did you know?"

"The water creature in the bay, plus, you gone," Irma replied, "is a recipe for the guardians." Rachel laughed at her aunt's ridiculous way of making her feel better and was silently glad that she would never have to come up with an excuse to get out of the house.

---

"The first sensor has been deactivated," explained a silhouette in the darkness. Another figure, a tall slender being, stirred with the news.

"How?" it questioned, "did it recover any information before that?"

"The energy source that switched it off was remarkably powerful compared to the source the sensor had landed in. The orbs only respond to the same substance after they are activated, though. And it did not catalog anything about how it was turned off," explained the shadow.

"Is there no way to discover the identity of what did it?" asked the second figure, the tone carried by the voice grew harsher.

"I will send instructions to the control and see if it can equip the other sensors with adequate ways to discover what happened," replied the shadow.

"Good," came the response.

* * *

- - - So, did you like it? I hope so. I know writing a review is difficult, I have a really hard time starting mine off, but I really need to know what you all thought of this story! So many people have read it and favored it! I want to know **what parts you liked, didn't like, didn't understand****, who**** are your favorite characters, ****which characters seem strange**** / M****ary Sue-ish****, and what you think is going to happen**** or whatnot**. (Just in case you need help writing a review ) Please tell me! Next chapter is coming up soon.

View my profile for my new poll as well, as well as my new story ideas! I have a lot of one-shots running through my head at the moment!


	12. A Fiery Spirit

**I do not own W.I.T.C.H.** Only my BRUJA girls. Wow, thank goodness, FINALS ARE OVER! Time to write more! If you're stilling reading this, you deserve a cookie! (except I can't bake)

* * *

**Chapter ****3)**_** A Fiery Spirit**_

The alarm clock next to Alexis' bed screamed as the pixels lit up the time, 6:30. The sleeping girl jumped from her bed and slammed her hand down onto the snooze button, silencing the clock and climbing out of bed. She walked across her room in the dark, finding her dresser and grabbing a handful of clothing. She quietly changed and ran a brush through her hair. Even through the dark, the new streaked she had just put in yesterday stood apart from her the rest. She tripped over her lacrosse stick on the way out her door, muttering under breathe. Hurrying into the light, she noticed that she had chosen a jean skirt and one of her red halter tops.

"Alexis," patronized her mother as she saw her daughter grab her bag, "you are not wearing _that_ to school.

"Yeah I am," replied Alexis, snatching an apple from the table. Her mother grabbed her wrist and Alexis met her eyes.

"Go upstairs, and change," ordered her mother.

"No," snapped Alexis, "I always wear this to school."

"Alexis," growled her mother, "go change your clothes now!"

"No!" exclaimed Alexis, "I've never been told to change before, this outfit is fine. You never complained before."

"I wasn't home to complain, but maybe I should be," came the answer from Alexis' mother, "now do as you're told, and change."

"Make me!" roared Alexis, "I'm leaving." Before her mother could see the flames glowing in her eyes, Alexis slammed the door and marched to school.

---

The bell rang, waking Alexis from her nap. Jaden slid into the chair next to her and sighed. Blinking her brown eyes, Alexis yawned and stretched, listening to Jaden as she spoke.

"Rachel is kinda freaked out from last night," she told her, "but after almost drowning, I don't blame her." When Alexis only nodded, Jaden frowned, "are you ok?"

"I had a fight with my mom," came her reply.

"About what? I thought your mom was never home," Jaden said.

"About my clothes," Alexis explained, "she's only back this week, than she'll be in Nevada for another month." The door closed as their chemistry teacher, Mrs. Daybric, entered the room; she walked past the desks on the way to the front of the room and sighed as she passed Alexis. She took a seat at her desk and put her hand to her forehead.

"Alexis," she sighed, "would you please wear something appropriate for school. Everyone else does, please try."

"Why is everyone mad about my clothing?" Alexis exclaimed, she took a breath and smiled, "besides, I am trying; this skirt is a whole four inches longer than the one I wore yesterday." The class burst into laughter followed by a long sigh by the teacher.

"Anyway, today we will be doing a lab. I hope I don't need to remind any of you that improperly using the Bunsen burners will result in disciplinary action," the teacher continued, "instructions are on the board." Once again, Alexis left Jaden to get the materials. The blond retuned caring a handful of wooden sticks and assorted pieces of food. Alexis picked up a Cheeto and stabbed it with a stick.

Jaden remained silent as she watched Alexis turn on the Bunsen burner and roast the Cheeto. The sixteen-year-old's eyes watched the flames eat up the cheesy snack at the end of the stick, the flames raising and falling effortlessly with her breathing. A shrill voice interrupted her thoughts, causing the tranquil flames to flair out, singeing some of Alexi's hair.

"Alexis!" shouted the teacher, "stopping playing with the Bunsen burner, turn it down now!" Alexis set her jaw, narrowed her flaming brown eyes, and turned the knob controlling the gas. Instead of dyeing, the fire grew larger, increasing to the size of her head, disintegrating the cheeto and catching the wooden stick on fire. The panic of her mind mixed with her annoyance for Mrs. Daybric. Alexis watched the flames burn higher, seeing her world spiral out of control. The hungry flames met the ceiling; the students scurried around the classroom trying to escape the fire; Jaden called out to get Alexis' attention, but the girl did not hear her at first.

"Alexis!" Jaden shouted in her ear, the room was empty save for the two girls and their teacher as she attempted to pull Jaden with her out the door. The blond closed her eyes, her voice piercing through Alexis' mind.

"Alexis! Control yourself, breathe." The panic and confusion and anger exploded from her mind; the hungry flames had set off the fire alarm and had caught the ceiling on fire. Jaden was pulled out the door as the paneling above her collapsed over the threshold of the room. Alexis jumped backward and watched the flames subside as she took a few calming breathes. The Bunsen burner had melted into a puddle of metal which had settled onto the table. The ceiling carried remnants of the flame's fiery tongue; long smoky trails of charred panels met her gaze.

The door was shoved open by two firemen from around the fire house around the corner. Alexis paused as the firemen surveyed the situation, noticing the scorch marks of the high intensity fire while she had remained unscathed. Taking Jaden's advice, Alexis took a deep breath and let the firemen escort her from the room.

By the time she made her way to the principal's office, the school had already been refilled of the evacuated students. The fire trucks drove away while Alexis watched from the window in the office. The principal entered the room with Mrs. Daybric close behind. The principal offered Alexis a chair and sat down, eyebrows knitted with questions.

"Alexis," he began, "I'm not going to ask you _how_ you managed to set off the fire alarms and almost burn down a science room, instead-" The door opened, interrupting the principal's words. Alexis' mother hurried into the room and stood behind Alexis.

"I'm sorry; I got here as soon as I could," she explained, "please go on."

"Yes yes, of course," nodded the principal, "instead of asking how, I want to know _why_. Why Alexis? Do you find it funny? Do you want attention? Are you trying to fit in by making a spectacle of yourself?"

"No," muttered Alexis, turning away.

"No what Alexis?" her mother questioned.

"No to all of it!" Alexis exclaimed. Just hearing her mother's voice set off more explosions in her head. "I don't find it funny because I almost hurt Jaden. I don't want attention, because I already all the attention I want. And I am not making a spectacle of myself to fit in!"

"Alexis calm down," cautioned her mother, placing her hands on her daughter's shoulder. Alexis shook them off and jumped to her feet.

"I _AM_ CALM!" Alexis screamed. Both the principal and Mrs. Daybric were shocked at Alexis' outright disrespect to her mother.

"Alexis," said her mother, her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose, "you've given me no other choice, I didn't want to resort to his, but maybe your father was right."

"What are you suggesting," asked the principal.

"Military school in Creekview," replied her mother.

"No!" screamed Alexis, her brown eyes were aflame, but no one seemed to notice.

"You have no discipline, and it's mostly my fault," continued Alexis' mother.

"No you can't. What about my friends and the lacrosse team!" Alexis wanted to scream, 'what about BRUJA,' but she held her tongue.

"I'm sorry but-" her sentence was cut off as Alexis hurled herself at the door; she slammed it behind her and tore off down the hallway. She felt tears form in her eyes, blurring her vision, but she bit them back. She ducked around a corner and took a deep breath. The bell exploded above her into a chorus of buzzing, the sound that meant first period classes had ended.

She watched in silence as Brianna walked past her hiding place, her effects on the electrical alarm reaching Alexis' ear for a moment. The alarm slowly counted down to itself from 240, waiting to ring again. A flash of blond shook Alexis free, she reached out and pulled Jaden over to her.

"Help me!" Alexis cried. Jaden pushed her inside the janitor's closet and shut the door.

"What's wrong?" questioned Jaden.

"My mom wants to send me to military school!" exclaimed Alexis.

"What?" Jaden's green eyes opened wide, "she can't, what about lacrosse?" she paused, "what about BRUJA!"

"What am I going to do?" Alexis sighed, "I wish I had Rachel's power now."

"Water?" questioned Jaden.

"No," Alexis replied, "she apparently can make people do what she wants. I would make my mom let me stay."

"How long will you be gone?" asked Jaden. The bell outside the room rang, yet neither girl budged to make it to her next class.

"My mom didn't say," Alexis frowned, "probably until I learn 'discipline'." The knob rattled on the door and Alexis jumped up from the floor, hiding behind her friend. The door opened, allowing the light from the hallway entrance. The principal, Mrs. Daybric, and Alexis' mother peered inside, frowns set on all their faces.

"Girls, class has started, why are you in there?" demanded the principal.

"Alexis, get out of the closet now!" ordered her mother. Jaden led her friend out of the closet and into the empty hallway.

"Please let Alexis stay, she can't go to military school," Jaden pled.

"Enough," said Mrs. Daybric, "Jaden, class has started; I'll escort you to your next room." Jaden gave Alexis an apologetic look and let her chemistry teacher guide her down the hall. Alexis attempted to spring after her, but her mother grabbed both of her shoulders, pushing her to the office. The principal walked next to her mother, prompting the next question.

"When were you taking Alexis, will she be in school tomorrow?"

"No," Alexis' mother replied. Alexis stopped waling and spun around to face her.

"What!" she screamed, "no, I can't start tomorrow!"

"We're driving there today," Alexis' mother explained, "I just called your father a moment ago, and he thought it was a great idea."

"Of course he would," Alexis exclaimed, "he's in the air force, he's always wanted me to go to military school!"

"That's not the point Alexis,"

"Yes it is! It's not far!" the halls echoed with her shouts as her mother guided her towards the front door. They drove home in silence, Alexis' eyes staring out the window in thought.

Before the car came to a stop in their driveway, Alexis leaped out, stormed up the stairs, and slammed the door to her room. She pushed the open suitcase, which her mother had set out, off her bed and collapsed in its place. She was glad that the other girls weren't here to see her breaking down. She was supposed to be the strong one, the fearless one, and sometimes, the leader.

"Why are my powers acting like this?" questioned Alexis, "they've never been tied to my emotions before." As she sniffled and wipped away the tears from her eyes with her pillow, she heard her door open. Alexis turned, her makeup smeared across her face where her tears had run, and she glared at her mother. Her mother picked up the suitcase and opened Alexis' drawers, throwing clothing into it haphazardly. Alexis heard her mother sigh as she placed skirts and halters into the suitcase. A zipper was zipped closed as Alexis rolled over and looked at her mother.

"Do you need anything else?' asked her mother, her tone carried an icy edge.

"No," Alexis snapped. She sat on her bed and watched her mother tote the case out of the bedroom. Her mother returned and pulled her down the stairs just after Alexis had time to stuff her skirt's pockets with makeup.

The drive to Creekview through crowded Heatherfield took twice as long as it should have. Everyone and their brother, and their second cousin twice removed on their mother's side, had shown up to look at the bay, searching for more water monsters. The two hour journey, which took close to four, took Alexis past a cozy looking spa set off from the highway, fields of corn, and a dense, hilly forest. They arrived at a nice looking building that was more like a cottage or a house then a military school.

_"So?" came a voice in Alexis' mind._

_"Hey Jaden, where are you?_

_"We're in lunch; it's quiet without you here. How's the place, are you there yet?"_

_"Yeah, it looks ok, kinda," Alexis told her, "what are we gonna do? Without Brianna, I can't transform and met you guys if there's trouble-" Alexis paused, "wont that make Brianna happy…"_

_"Brianna doesn't know how much she needs your help," laughed Jaden._

"Alexis grab your things," her mother ordered, breaking her concentration with Jaden. Alexis scowled and did as she was told; transferring her makeup to the case while her mother wasn't looking. They walked inside and came to a desk where a young man sat at a computer.

"Excuse me," Alexis' mother said, "I'm here to drop off Alexis." Alexis scowled.

"Sure, um, Alexis," he muttered. He clicked on a few things on his computer and looked up, "she's all checked in. Alexis, if you'll follow me, I'll show you where you can put your things." Alexis followed the man into the back room, watching her mother exit out the front door. She was led to a large dormitory that looked and felt much older than the first half of the building. The large room full of bunk beds reminded Alexis of an amphitheater. The hundred or so beds were divided into smaller groups, each on one tear of the room. The room sloped downwards, developing three distinct levels. The ceiling was normal height at the top, but at the base of the room, it stood almost three stories tall. Alexis thought to Ulani and how she would love the open air inside this room.

The man led her to a bed on the lowest section, after walking down fifty or so stairs. Alexis stashed her case under the bed and followed the man to the next room. After getting a uniform, a pair of boots, stern looks for her permanently dyed hair, and grabbing her coat, she was brought outside to meet her group. The man left her in the company of an even bigger man, who looked he like should have been on a football team, and a group of seven other girls.

_"Alexis?" questioned Jaden, her mental line of communication crackling to life._

_"Yes Jaden?"_ Alexis answered while staring down the other girls. They were all Jaden's height, maybe taller, but none of them had her slim figure. One or two of them appeared to rival Alexis in age, but the rest looked Ulani's age or just older. The commander of the squad marched up to the man and looked at his clip-board.

_"What's it like?" asked Jaden._

_"The girls are acting like Brianna," came her retort, "Jaden, I've got to go, the boss looks like he wants to nail me for my hair, I'll talk to you tonight."_ With that said Alexis cut off Jaden's mind from her own and focused on the big man in front of her. She decided he had been kicked off his high school football team and joined the military to get back at his old friends, thus in her mind, he had just earned the nickname Mr. Sore Loser.

"Girls!" Mr. Sore Loser commanded, "met your new teammate, Alexis." The girls stood patiently while he talked, watching Alexis' reaction. The brunette held back her snotty reply and remained silent, eying them back.

"Before we were interrupted by your teammate's arrival, what were we going to do?" questioned Mr. Sore Loser, shouting.

"Go for a run," came their half-hearted reply.

"What?" he asked, I can't hear you!"

"GO FOR A RUN!" came the seven girls' reply. Alexis remained silent.

"I CAN'T HEAR **EVERYONE**!" he exclaimed. The girl closest to Alexis elbowed her in the ribs; she shot her a nasty look.

"GO FOR A RUN!" shouted every girl, though Alexis' reply was weak. The commander seemed satisfied and he led the girls to a trail where he started at a brisk run. They settled into a single file line with the commander leading and Alexis at the tail.

"So," Alexis questioned the girl in front of her, "how far are we going?"

"Three miles," came the reply. The girl was already out of breath. After what felt like a mile Alexis felt herself start to tire. Frowning at the slow pace, she passed the other girls. The pace the commander was running at that was a suitable one, but Alexis was used to keeping up with her blond, long legged friend. Alexis past the commander, grinning as she saw his face harden and his eyes narrow. Alexis noticed he was not even breathing heavy at all and wondered how good of endurance he had, not that it would matter if she tried to run off, the place was surrounded by barbed wire fences; she would need her wings to get out, but Brianna would never do that for her.

Day quickly turned to night as the eight girls were put through obstacle course and run after another. Alexis, much to the commander's chagrin never needed to be reprimanded about her loss of endurance. She silently thanked her lacrosse coach for putting them through so much conditioning year round to stay in shape when one of the girls was forced to do two hundred pushups when she slowed down to a walk on one of their jogs.

When dinner was served around seven, the commander released the girls. Alexis, usually the center of attention, wasted no time in breaking out the military jokes to get herself a seat and people to sit with. Though she had no intention of making friends, being the social outcast was not going to happen. After Alexis finished the food that rivaled the poor quality of Sheffield, she made her way back her bed. Lying on her back Alexis closed her eyes and opened her mind to Jaden. The two girls mentally conversed for the next three hours, trading stories of what had happened during the day until it was time to sleep.

--- ---

The next morning, Mr. Sore Loser woke all the girls on their team early. They dressed in the dark and arrived outside in ten minutes, except for Alexis who took an extra five minutes in the bathroom to put on her makeup. When she arrived outside, she received angry looks from the girls and met the commander up close and personal when his face came within inches from her own.

"I said ten minutes, not fifteen!" he shouted, "I should make you run laps for that disobedience.

"So," snapped Alexis, "bring it on, I can take on anything you throw at me!"

"Five mile run, now!" shouted Mr. Sore Loser, his veins pooping out of his neck. He seemed furious that Alexis was not cracking under the pressure.

"Bring it on Mr. Slowpoke!" growled Alexis. The girls gasped at her disrespect while their commander fumed. His almost black eyes narrowed as he tried to stare Alexis down, but he was met with her fiery gaze.

"Enough, we're headed to the ridge, now!"

"The ridge!" cried out the oldest girl.

"That's seven miles from here," complained another girl.

"We won't make it there _and _back," voiced a third.

"MARCH!" silenced the commander. The girls grudgingly hurried after Mr. Sore Loser as he set off at a brisker pace towards the acres of forests. Alexis kept pace nicely and frowned as the other girls lost their breath after the third mile on the trail. Stopping periodically to do sit-ups and pushups, they watched the sun rise to noon and begin to fall as the day moved forward. Running on empty, the girls were miserable as they continued, climbing higher as the trial sloped upward. The sun was just starting to set as the girls and Mr. Sore Loser rounded the bend to the campsite on the ridge.

Being last in line, Alexis felt the heat before she saw it; the entire clearing was filled with dancing flames. At the center, a campfire, most likely the culprit, burned ferociously. A glimmer caught Alexis' eyes in the center, but she focused her attention on her screaming squad mates. Whipping out his emergency cell phone, the commander called the base as he ushered the girls back down the trail.

"Look!" pointed one of the girls. Alexis turned and saw the flames take the shape of a monster. It had a thick upright body, the flames at the top coming to a point and burning the air. At where the head would be, two white hot flickers of never moving flame eyed the girls, glancing over Alexis; two massive flaming arms extended from the being whipped towards the girls, causing Alexis to panic.

"Hurry, the emergency truck is down the trail!" yelled the commander. Alexis' heart hammered in her chest as the flaming being reached out for the girls and Mr. Sore Loser. She blasted a weak jet of fire at it, but her flames were just absorbed. The being paused just long enough for the girls to skirt its groping hand and flee, screaming, down the trail. Alexis opened her mind as best she could with all the tension surrounding her and found Brianna, yelling her message quickly.

"Brianna," it's Alexis, "it's Alexis, I need-"

"Alexis," laughed Brianna, "what, even when you aren't in Heatherfield you find a way to annoy me. What?"

"Get the girls, there's a monster here!" A helicopter hovered overhead as she explained to Brianna what was happening. The brunette felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Mr. Sore Loser pulling her down the trail.

"Alexis, move it!" he ordered. She wiggled free of his grip only to be grabbed by her wrist. He twisted her arm and pulled her away from the fire.

"Let me go!" Alexis screamed.

"It's not safe, stay away from that thing!" he shouted. Alexis grabbed his arm that held her wrist, anger burning as clear as fire in her eyes, and the heat flowed into her hands. The commander yelped like a puppy and jumped back, releasing her. Springing free, Alexis leaped into the clearing, the fire soon surrounding her, blocking her views of the others.

The monster of fire turned its attention back to the surrounding forest, ignoring Alexis' presence within the field. The flames shifted to the south and reached into the air, grabbing at something. Before Alexis knew what was going on, she felt herself being lifted into the air and changing into her guardian form. Taking to the sky she met up with Brianna, Rachel, Ulani, and Jaden.

"Took you long enough," muttered Alexis.

"Well, it's a long way here from Heatherfield," Brianna snapped.

"Girls, stop," Ulani intervened, "we have a bigger problem." She pointed to the monster as it eyed them hungrily.

"Let's go, come on," Alexis said a smile on her face, "let's fight fire with fire." She blasted a stream of fire at the demon like creature, watching as it had hardly any effect. Brianna rolled her blue eyes as she pointed towards the creature and sent a bolt of lightning at it. The creature of fire absorbed the lightning and continued on with its quest of devouring the countryside. Ulani flapped her white feathered wings and climbed above the smoke in the sky. Jaden watched her appear from the smoky cloud and avoid a helicopter that was hovering nearby. The blond placed her hands to the ground and ordered a large section of unburned forest to uproot itself and march farther away from the monster, attempting to limit its source of energy. Ulani appeared again, diving from the sky and pulling into a tight spiral around the monster. Alexis remembered the move as the one the Rokadorian girl had used back in the castle at Rokador on her. The monster appeared to shrink from the lack of oxygen, but once Ulani pulled out of the spiral and struggled to fly a straight line back to the group, the being doubled in size, towering to three stories tall.

"Rachel, why aren't you attacking?" shouted Alexis, her brown eyes mirrored the flames around them, "water should help put that thing out!"

"But," she muttered, "my powers didn't-"

"Rachel, just try," Alexis said, flying up to her so the others girls could not hear, "I don't know why our powers were acting weird, but we have to stop this monster from destroying the whole forest!" Rachel nodded and extended her hands, water spontaneously generating from her palms and falling through the air into the fire. The two opposite elements met in the air and fought, producing steam, simmering as it floated upwards to mix with the dark smoke. The monster fought back, no longer allowing the girls to throw their attacks without regret. Fire arms grew and grabbed at the girls in the sky.

Alexis spun around and blasted a ball of fire at the extensions of the beast. Pausing, the being retreated and attacked Ulani as she flew past. Darting through the air, she avoided the massive arm and sent a gust of air after her. Alexis hovered, avoiding being knocked over by the breeze and dodged the arm as it was blown towards her. Alexis took advantage of the opening and dove towards the monster. It shifted directly into her flight path; the guardian of fire found herself surrounded by burning as she tried to stop. Her nerves were on fire, yet they were numb at the same time. Only a pinprick of pain reached her as she hit the scorched ground. Her vision was tinted red and the world was mute as she lay in the center of the demon creature.

Clearing her mind, Alexis was vaguely aware that the air around her burned her skin and throat, but something else caught her eyes. Amid the dancing, brilliant flames, another source of light showed bright. Drawn like a moth to flame, Alexis reached out her hands and touched the orb of light. Her fingers burned, blisters forming as she pulled the sphere closer and held it up. She felt a flash of cold, then hot, rush through her body, and she struggled to hold her consciousness. She knew, unlike with Rachel and the lake, no one would jump into the fire to save her. _Fire_, remembered Alexis, _I'm __**inside**_ the _fire monster_! Her mind screamed as the sensation of heat returned to her skin. The temperature overtook her and she blacked out.

The girls watched the monster as it slowly turned to smoke and drift away, the hungry flames dyeing as they ceased to find places to catch. Ulani waved her hand, clearing the smoke from the area and spotted Alexis. Her prone form laid inches from a campfire, or what was left of it. The ring of rocks had been blackened beyond recognition and only a dip in the earth marked the spot.

"Alexis!" Jaden called as she swooped down and knelt near her. Brown eyes fluttered upon, hazily staring up into her friends green ones. Alexis released the orb and put in down, feeling her strength returning to her.

"Is it gone?" Alexis asked. She pushed herself up but fell back as her hands touched the ground.

"Alexis, look at your hands," Ulani gasped. The girls turned their attention to the guardian of fire, watching as she inspected her hands Ulani straightened and cupped her hand around her ear.

"We have to go, the sirens are coming," she warned them. Alexis began to flutter her wings but she was stopped by Brianna.

"You have to stay here," she ordered

"No, I'm going home," Alexis argued.

"No, I mean," Brianna paused, surprising herself with her logic, "if you come with us, then the people who saw you come here will think you died in the fire."

"Oh," came Alexis' reply, "so what do I do? Just stand here and wait?"

"Lie on the ground and pretend you inhaled too much smoke," suggested Jaden.

"I'm the guardians of fire, smoke doesn't faze me," Alexis said matter-o-factly.

"Do you want to tell them that?" Jaden asked. A fire truck's lights filled the road; Brianna untransformed Alexis and the girls took to the sky. Alexis grabbed the orb, which had a reddish tint and shoved it into her pocket. Lying back down on the dirt, she closed her eyes and let the firemen find her, retreating into her mind to fight off the pain in her hands.

--- ---

Alexis opened her eyes and was forced to blink to adjust to the brightness of the room. She looked to her hands and noticed they had been bandaged with white medical tape. She was vaguely aware of talking outside her room and closed her eyes to try and hear the voices better.

"--- how she survived --- only her hands --- dead," said the first voice softly.

"The firemen said the blaze was all put out when they arrived," explained the second voice, much louder than the first, "they also said they thought they saw the figures from the news in the air above the area, you know, the ones from the Heatherfield Bay incident."

"Sure they did. That _still_ doesn't explain --- her commanding officer said she ran right into --- what was this girl thinking?" The door was closed completely and Alexis opened her eyes once more. Fumbling with the bandages, she managed to pull the red orb from her pocket. Wondering what significance it must have had, she rolled over and let sleep overcome her.

---

"What news do you bring?" questioned the tall shadow in the darkened area. The small windows of the room looked out into darkness; no light could intrude upon the space inside.

"The second sensor has been deactivated," came the nervous voice of the second, much smaller silhouette.

"What!" said the first being, anger rising off his words.

"But the sensor managed to record some information about the thing that deactivated it," the scared second shadow squeaked, "what turned it off had a body temperature of 98.6."

"That's practically _useless_!" exclaimed the tall figure, "make sure the other sensors collect _useful_ data, we can't afford to not know why the probes are being deactivated before they can collect-"

"Yes, yes, I will. Don't you worry," the small being replied. He scurried away to avoid the wrath that would befall anyone left in the dark room.

* * *

(: Wow, poor Alexis! Do you know what's happening yet? If you read my season three for the W.I.T.C.H. girls, you _might_ see where this has come from and is going… (but hold on, it's going to take a sharp turn in some direction soon) ;)

um, bad news. I'm going to take a break with writing this story, but i'm not done, i'm just taking a break. Thanks for understanding!


	13. The Big Break

**I do not own W.I.T.C.H.** Ok, I'm back now, thanks for the great reviews everyone!

* * *

**Chapter 4)**_** The Big Break**_

The snow on the ground had all but melted in the unseasonably warm January weather. The final bell rang for first period, yet it held little to no importance for the still asleep students wandering into class. The first day back from winter break had only started, but Jaden was already bored of school. She twisted a stand of blond hair around her finger, absentmindedly staring out the window. Without Alexis, chemistry had just become the most boring class she had to live through. Even though Alexis never did anything to help with the experiments, she did know more about the topics, having taken the _same _class the previous year.

Jaden watched as her teacher wrote some equations on the board to be balanced and sighed heavily, waiting for the class to be over.

-- --

"Jaden, over here!" called Ulani; the girl was still bundled up a heavy sweater even though the temperature outside had warmed considerably. Apparently, Rokador did not experience cold weather. "Jaden look!" She held up a sheet of paper with French words; a large red A+ occupied the top right corner. Jaden smiled and gave Ulani a simple congratulation, happy at least someone was enjoying school.

"What's wrong Jaden?" asked Rachel. The blond turned and sighed as Rachel watched silently.

"It's really boring without Alexis here," came the girl's reply. Rachel nodded in agreement.

"Just call her," Ulani suggested, picking at her salad, "then we can all talk to her." Jaden brightened and called on Alexis, mentally finding her mind.

"Did you miss me?" Alexis' voice echoed throughout the three girls' heads.

"Yes," replied the girls in unison.

"No, get out of my head!" commanded a forth voice.

"Brianna, I'm not talking to you, butt out," Alexis growled.

"You're the one who _started_ talking to me!" Brianna said, her anger apparent.

"Well, it's hard to control who I contact when _I'm_ so far away and you guys are all in the same room!"

"Stop it!" Jaden ordered, "Brianna, if you don't want to talk to Alexis, don't listen, please."

"Whatever," came Brianna's voice, her mental line went dark.

"Alexis, lacrosse is starting today, well, pre-season at least," Jaden explained.

"No, that's not fair, I'm still stuck in this stupid place," Alexis complained, "I'm in better shape then you now too!"

"How is it there?" asked Ulani as she pushed her lunch away.

"You'd like the dorm," Alexis said, "it's really open, but the girls in my group don't like me, and the commander is keeping his eye on me ever since the fire."

"Watch out," Rachel cautioned.

"Don't worry about me Rachel, you just worry about that no-good boyfriend," Alexis joked.

"No, he's not-"

"Yeah, yeah," laughed Alexis, "I know."

"What is the team going to do without you?" Jaden asked.

"Suffer," joked Alexis, "no really, you'll be great." The bell rang, ending the lunch period, throwing the girls into their next class. Jaden left the cafeteria after saying goodbye to Alexis and the others. Everywhere she walked, colorful signs stood out from the walls where they were tapped, advertising both boys and girls lacrosse tryouts that day. Excitement coursed through her body; she could not wait to be on the team.

--

"Sophia!" called Jaden. Sophia turned and looked in Jaden's direction while putting her bag on the bleachers outside near the practice fields.

"Jaden, what are we going to do about Alexis?" asked Sophia, sliding her lacrosse stick out of her bag, "who's going to play offense with you? You two were perfect; it was like you coordinated every move!"

"She's unhappy about not being here, but we'll just have to find a replacement until she comes back," Jaden sighed, "when do tryouts start?"

"The coach said he'd start tryouts in half an hour, and he said for pre-season he'd take twice as many girls as he will for the real season, so we can scrimmage more often," Sophia told her.

"Do you think he'll let us play the boys?" asked Jaden, "their tryouts are the same time as ours, so they have nothing to do too. It would be fun!"

"Are you sure you just don't want to show off for the photography and newspaper clubs?" giggled Sophia.

"What?" asked Jaden, "no way!" Sophia pointed to the group of students with clipboards and cameras. The blond noticed that her neighbor was watching the lacrosse players begin warming up, pointing his camera at the field and studying the area. Jaden and Sophia suddenly both felt a hand on their shoulders and turned to find the girl's lacrosse coach standing behind them.

"Sophia, I'm glad to see you're back this year, where's Alexis?" he asked.

"She's," Sophia hesitated.

"In military school," Jaden finished for her friend. The coach's mouth dropped open slightly in shock, but he quickly regained his composure and addressed Jaden.

"You must be Jaden, the one who Alexis and Sophia talked so much about last year," the coach complimented, "I'm excited to see you play today." Jaden blushed; apparently her friends admired her playing more than they had let onto.

"We were wondering then," Jaden asked, "if we could play the boys until tryouts start?"

"Go away," the coach replied, "Just don't win by too much." Jaden smiled and gave Sophia a quick high five. Jaden pulled out her special lacrosse stick that her father had gone off to have handmade in Meridian. Sophia called the girls and boys around her and offered to play a game. Everyone agreed and they split to discuss strategy. Jaden joined Sophia as she assigned positions to the girls who wanted to play, putting Jaden on offense and herself in goal. Jaden watched as the boys took up their positions on the field, lazily passing a ball between them as they waited for the girls to be ready. Jaden looked to the girl who would be her partner on offense; the girl was in the club that played in the summer, so she knew her, but she usually played more on the defensive side and her name escaped her at the moment. The blond could feel that the older girl was slightly intimidated by her, but she shrugged it off as her exhilaration took over.

The two teams faced off on the field, and the first play was started. Jaden watched as the center player for their team passed the ball forward to her partner. Once she caught the ball, she immediately tossed it to Jaden, much to the blond's surprise. Jaden sprang forward, dodging one of the boys as he lunged for her to try and get the ball. Jaden looked back and saw the girl was nervous about passing the centerfield line, leaving her no one to pass to. The defense on the boy's team charged in to stop her from scoring, but Jaden leaped over their attempts to trip her up and ducked around them while they tried to stand in her way. One attempt to dodge one of the other players landed her on the ground, but again, she sprung back up in only a matter of seconds and continued on towards the goal. Silently she wished that she had Alexis to help her, but the thought slipped from her mind when the goal neared. The goalie was the same guy that played on the club team in the summer.

Jaden smiled and steadied the ball in the net of the lacrosse stick in her hands. A new idea entered her mind; _I might be able to do this all by myself after all!_ The realization took over and she launched the ball at the top corner of the goal. The projectile slipped past the goalkeeper's stick and landed inside the net. Jaden cheered and jumped into the air along with the other members of her team. Out of the corner of her eye, Jaden noticed the photography club pointing and snapping pictures of her victory. The coach looked pleasantly surprised and sat down on the bleachers to watch the teams as they played.

The two teams faced off at the centerline once more; the girls again stole the ball first. The centerfielder passed it to Jaden after she ran forward a few strides. Jaden jumped, caught the ball, landed, and then sidestepped to the right before she sprinted forward. The boys had learned from her last goal and were more determined to stop her now that their coach had just arrived. He sat on the bleachers with the girls' coach, both sets of eyes watching the game.

Jaden's braid slapped against her nylon jacket as she ran; the warm wind carried hints of remaining winter ice as she raced forward. She neared the goal, confident that she could score without the other girls' help. Since the start of the game, only two of her teammates had touched the ball. Jaden turned her head and watched as one the guys ran towards her. Dodging him, she felt her legs slid out from under her. Jaden twisted around and tried to save the ball, but the ground met her arm before she could do anything.

Pain shot through Jaden's body as she hit the dirt. The guy who had sent her to the ground landed on her arm and her lacrosse stick at an awkward angle. No one on either team moved. The two coaches jumped up and ran onto the field; the newspaper club and photo club stared dumbstruck at what had just happened. Sophia abandoned the goal and hurried to help Jaden. The boy rolled over and rubbed his head; he turned and looked at Jaden. Her green eyes were pressed closed with pain as she took small breaths through her teeth.

"Jaden!" called Sophia. She dropped to her knees and placed her hand on Jaden's left shoulder. Jaden winced at the touch and Sophia drew back.

"Is she ok?" asked the coach. Jaden opened her green eyes and saw the blurred faces of the two coaches, Sophia, and the two teams as they converged around her.

"Usually she never stays down," muttered the boy as he got to his feet, "I didn't think I hit her _that_ hard." Sophia glared daggers at him and turned back to Jaden.

"My arm," whispered Jaden.

"It might be broken," said one of the girls.

"Call an ambulance!" roared the boy's coach. Jaden closed her eyes and let the salty tears escape her green eyes, trying not to think about what had just happened.

--

Cornelia looked over at her daughter as they waited for a stoplight on the way home from the hospital. Jaden blankly stared out the window at the passing shops and houses as they drove through downtown Heatherfield. Her right hand rested on the cast encasing her left arm from her hand to the middle of her bicep. Cornelia wondered what her daughter was thinking about and sighed.

The car pulled into view of the house and Jaden opened the door and let herself out. The sun was just beginning to set in the winter sky. Cornelia watched as Jaden hurried up the front steps and slammed the front door closed.

Holding back tears, Jaden noticed her lacrosse stuff was piled in the living room. She allowed a smile to come to her face as she noticed her lacrosse stick was still in one piece. Gentle footsteps interrupted the silence of the room as Ulani walked down the stairs. She paused on the third step from the floor and looked at Jaden with her understanding, grey eyes.

"I'm glad you're ok," she offered. Jaden leaned against the wall and collapsed onto the floor. She lifted her left arm and brandished her cast in the air.

"This is _Not_ ok!" she shouted, her eyes pressed closed. A single tear slipped through and slid down her face. Ulani descended the last two steps and knelt by Jaden.

"Time," Ulani recited, "heals all wounds." Jaden turned away, her green eyes focusing on nothing in particular.

"Do you _really _believe that?" Jaden snapped. Ulani sighed, her grey eyes seemed even more distant then they usually were.

"No," she whispered, her eyes glazing over with tears, "but-"

"Ulani, don't cry," plead Jaden, "I'm sorry, I'm still mad, I didn't mean anything."

"It's ok," Ulani sniffled, "I don't expect you to know what happened. It's all in the past now, we can't do anything to change it, right?"

"Yeah," Jaden agreed, unsure as to what Ulani was speaking of. She changed the subject, "do you want to sign my cast?" Ulani nodded, slowly rose, walked into the hall, and grabbed a silver sharpie from the kitchen, signing her name in neat cursive handwriting. Jaden stood and walked outside through the back door. Without her coat, the wind swirled around her, biting at her bare arms. Jaden ignored it and made her way over to the fence where the boarder was trimmed with decorative rocks. Picking up one in her good hand, she settled down on the ground and chucked it at the fence. The rock made a small dent in the wood near the knothole. Jaden lifted her hand and brought up four more quarter sized stones with her powers over earth, flinging them too at the wooden boundary marker.

"Why did this happen!?" Jaden questioned, "usually I never feel anything when I fall in lacrosse." She flung the next rock and watched as it hesitated in the air before bending to her will. "Do my powers over earth have something to do with the fact that I don't get hurt in lacrosse? Then why didn't they work today!" Her next stone left an unusually large dent in the wood while its partner missed completely. Seconds later Jacob appeared from the other side of the barrier.

"Careful, that could have hit me in the eye," he joked.

"Jacob!" Jaden exclaimed, "how long have you been out here!?"

"A few seconds," he answered, "why?"

"No reason," Jaden sighed, hoping he had not heard her complaining about her powers.

"I saw what happened today," Jacob sighed, "that was a nasty fall."

"Yeah," sighed Jaden, "do you want to sign my cast?" Jacob nodded and took the sharpie Jaden held out for him to use. He signed his name and studied the only other signature on her cast.

"You and Ulani, you two aren't sisters, are you?" Jacob ventured.

"No, why?" asked Jaden. She looked at his signature as he answered.

"Just wondering," he replied, "is she adopted?"

"Yeah, you could say that," Jaden said, "but no one at school knows, so-"

"Don't tell anyone?" The boy sighed, "I won't; I'm good at keeping secrets."

"Why is that?" asked Jaden.

"Becuase I have no one to tell them to," he shrugged. Jaden shivered from the cold and gave him a small smile before disappearing into the warmth of her home.

--

The cafeteria hummed with activity. The girls' usually empty table was crowded with students who knew about Jaden's accident. Rachel and Ulani watched as nearly everyone who knew the blond stopped by and asked to sign her cast. The girls from lacrosse practice appeared in a clump and told her how upset the coach was that she had been hurt. The small crowd parted and Brianna walked down the newly created space. The guardians of water and air watched as the redhead took a seat next to Jaden and proceeded to strike up a normal conversation as she pulled out her own pink sharpie and wrote, in her swirly handwriting, her name on the cast.

"I didn't know you were so popular Jaden," smiled Brianna. Jaden looked up, as if for the first time, at the surrounding students that encircled the table.

"Apparently everyone wants to know _exactly_ what happened," Jaden said.

"I see," Brianna replied, "I bet the school newspaper will be all over it." Rachel turned and shielded her mouth with part of her hand and whispered to Ulani.

"What's up with Brianna?" she asked, "I thought she didn't like us."

"She just doesn't like _Alexis_," Ulani replied, poking at the food in front of her with her plastic fork. Rachel nodded in understanding. The bell rang and Brianna pulled Jaden away from the table and towards the only class they shared, history.

They walked through the crowded halls, heading towards the history hallway at the north end of the school. When they entered the room, they were pleasantly surprised to see a substitute teacher and a flickering TV screen at the front of the class. As the two girls took their seats, the warning bell rang and the remaining students sauntered in and took their seats.

"Attention class," called the sub as he closed the door to the classroom, "your teacher left me a note that you are learning about current events in the country. In that case, she has also left me instructions to turn on the news and to have you take notes on everything that comes up. Does everyone understand?" The class groaned but nodded in agreement. The substitute turned off the lights and passed out a worksheet to fill in what was learned about the news.

"I hate it when teachers give out worksheets when we watch things in class," Brianna sighed, pulling out a pen. Jaden yawned and turned her attention to the news segment. The current story was one of rising oil prices, which held little of Jaden's interest. The blond stared out the window and doodled on her worksheet as the news continued on.

After half an hour, the regular segment was interrupted.

"--received reports of a strange creature to the north of Heatherfield." Jaden snapped her head forward and watched the video footage from a helicopter of a moving boulder, traveling slowly across a forest. "The creature appears to be headed towards Heatherfield; all residents are advised to remain calm."

"Brianna, look," whispered Jaden. Brianna looked up from her paper where she had been drawing butterflies and flowers and dropped her jaw.

"What _is_ that?" questioned Brianna. Whispers filled the room as the other students began exchanging ideas about what the thing was.

"We have to stop it," Jaden hissed.

"What!" Brianna asked a little too loudly, she lowered her voice, "we can't. We're in school _and_ your arm's broken! Besides, we can't just go up to the teacher and ask to be excused on account that _we have to save the city_!"

"Leave it to me Brianna," Jaden smiled, she closed her eyes.

_"Is class _that_ boring?"_ asked Alexis' voice.

"_Alexis, tell Ulani and Rachel to meet Brianna and me in the music hallway. We just saw the news, there's a strange rock monster coming towards Heatherfield. Meet us at that campfire spot ok?"_ Jaden explained.

"_Sure thing,"_ Alexis agreed.

"Ready?" asked Jaden, her green eyes snapping open as she turned to Brianna. The redhead nodded halfheartedly. Jaden raised her hand and called the teacher over.

"Yes?" he asked, he turned and scolded the two boys in the front, "don't touch the TV!"

"I'm feeling kind of dizzy; may I go to the nurse?" Jaden lied.

"Um, sure," the sub hesitated, "do you need assistance?"

"I'll help her," Brianna offered, catching onto the trick. The substitute wrote them both a pass and allowed them to leave. Once the door was shut again, they ran off down the hallway and towards the music and band classrooms. Leaning against a wall, Jaden looked around as Brianna caught her breath. Hurried footsteps echoed from around the corner; Ulani and Rachel appeared and walked over to them.

"Ready?" asked Jaden.

"Are you really going to transform with your broken arm?" asked Rachel.

"I have to," Jaden said, "we need to work as a team to win. Let's go." The girls ducked outside through the maintenance doors and hurried behind the tall bushes and the fence that boarded the school.

"Guardians Unite!" called Brianna, pulling the heart out of her jeans pocket.

"Water,"

"Earth,"

"Air,"

"Quintessence." The four girls opened their wings and took to the sky, careful to avoid the windows of the school in case some bored student was looking outside. The city of Heatherfield grew smaller as they gained height and flew north to find Alexis.

"How's your arm Jaden?" questioned Ulani, maneuvering closer as they flew to hear her reply. The blond tensed her left arm, her butterfly wings pushing her forward throughout the sky.

"It doesn't hurt as much now," Jaden said, surprise in her voice. Ulani raised her thin eyebrows with the same shock that plagued Jaden.

"Over there!" pointed Rachel, her finger directed at the burned-out section of forest below them. A running figure darted out of the foliage and waved her arms up at them. The four girls landed on the charred earth and watched Alexis make her way to them.

"Jaden, what happened to your arm?" questioned Alexis, noticing the cast.

"I broke it while playing lacrosse," sighed Jaden, "but there's some monster thing attacking close by. We can talk later." Alexis nodded and waited for Brianna to let her transform. As Alexis tested her wings, Jaden looked around and noticed trees falling to her left.

"There!" she pointed. A helicopter roared overhead in the same direction, quickly moving out of range. The five girls took to the air and flew after the helicopter. Wings beating, they gained ground and noticed a path of destruction below them. Where the trees had been saved from the fire, they had been torn from the ground and snapped in half, as if they had been mere twigs. The trail through the forest zigzagged back and forth; at the end of it, the girls hopped to find the creature.

Sirens and alarms slowly filled the air as Alexis pointed out the monster a few hundred feet in front of them. Helicopters circled overhead and police stood ready to shoot in front of the being. Its rock body stood only twenty feet tall, but the bullets the police began firing bounced off without leaving a scratch. The monster advanced on the police line, the officers shaking as they readied to fire another round, the ground shaking with each step it took.

"If we can't be seen, how are we supposed to do anything?" asked Brianna, pushing her red hair over her ears as she surveyed the scene in front of her. The guardians looked to each other, searching for the answer.

"I guess as long as they don't see _who_ we are, we _should_ be ok," Jaden shrugged.

"Let's go," smiled Alexis, she flew forward and blasted a fireball at the large moving boulder.

A gasp came from the mess of officers as she swooped down and bombarded the monster with a barrage of flames. Jaden sighed, watching the three other guardians join Alexis to try and take out the beast. The three helicopters circling overhead pulled higher as Ulani took control of the wind and sent a strong gust downward so they would not be pulled with it. The monster halted as it battled to keep its balance through the torrent of wind, but resumed its journey once the blast of air subsided. Alexis' fireballs seemed to have no effect on the monster; the rock only sustained minor burn marks. Brianna took her time attacking; as she flew in front of the creature, she pushed her hair behind her ears again, and held out her hand, her index finger extended. A bolt of white, hot lightning exploded from it, surrounding the being. As the flash dissipated, the guardian of energy was stunned to see it had no effect. Rachel's water blasts seemed only to make the rock wet, no matter how much force she used. 

Jaden fluttered to the ground and pressed her right hand to the dirt; roots sprouted from the earth and entwined themselves around the monster. The being disregarded the vines and continued forward, snapping the weak plants. Jaden stared, open mouthed at what was happening. The guardian of earth took a calming breath and flew forward towards the creature.

Hovering behind the rock as it walked, inching closer to the line of police, Jaden noticed a small crack. Hesitating for only a moment, Jaden balled her right hand into a fist and punched at the opening. Her fear of breaking her good arm vanished as the rock crumbled and her arm was engulfed. Alexis flew over.

"Jaden, what are you doing!" she exclaimed. The other girls continued their attacks, careful to avoid hitting Jaden and Alexis.

"I'm ok, just try to stop it!" Jaden shouted back. Alexis flew off and blasted the creature's front with a steady stream of fire, the flames flying off in all directions. Jaden braced her broken arm against the rock being's back, cringing as pain shot through it and tried to pull her right arm free. As she struggled, her finger tips touched something smooth inside the rock. Biting her lip, Jaden reached farther, her fingers wrapping around the smooth rounded object. Green eyes closed, the guardian of earth pulled her right arm free of the rock's hold. In her hand, she clutched the pastel yellow orb, careful to protect it as she slid from the monster's back. She switched the orb from her right to her left hand and collapsed onto the ground.

Brianna landed next to her and helped her up with Alexis's assistance. Ulani and Rachel watched as the monster began to crumble into hundreds of smaller rocks, and flew into the sky after the other guardians. The police scrambled in and examined the harmless rocks as the three circling helicopters hovered lower for a better view.

The five guardians sped away from the area, Jaden flying on her own as she regained her balance. They hovered over the burned campground.

"Alexis, land," ordered Brianna, "I'm going to un-transform you, so you'd better be on the ground." Alexis rolled her eyes but landed without a fuss. She changed out of her guardian form and watched as Brianna led the other guardians away. Alexis narrowed her brown eyes at the redhead. Her eyes found the barbed wire fence that surrounded the school and a smile lit up her face. Hurrying to it, she pulled off her uniform, revealing her skirt and tube top she had worn underneath it. Lighting a small flame on her finger, she melted the wiring on the fence. Kicking the last bit free, Alexis slipped through the fence and ran in the same direction she had watched Jaden disappear to.

--

The guardian of earth walked up the stairs to her room. They had returned to school just in time for the last period of the day. She watched Ulani disappear into her room and made her way to her own, the yellow orb in hand. She set the sphere in her drawer by her bed; a knock on her window stole her attention. The blond snapped her head around and turned in surprise towards her second story window. A familiar smile greeted her as the girl knocked on the glass once more.

"Alexis!" exclaimed Jaden, opening the window to let her friend in, "how - _why_ are you here?"

"I'll tell you, I took three buses - and I ran like - seven miles!" Alexis explained, panting she collapsed on Jaden's bed, "it's so nice to lay on a _real _bed!"

"Shhh," Jaden cautioned.

"Why? Your parents are cool, they won't mind," Alexis shrugged.

"It's not that," Jaden sighed, "you're not supposed to be here. What if the police come looking for you? If my parents know, then they'll have to lie about it. But I think you can stay in the room next to Ulani's upstairs, it's where we keep all the old stuff that was already in the house that we didn't need, there should be a pile of blankets and pillows there too." Alexis got to her feet and smiled, her hand resting on a bulge in her skirt's pocket. As she slipped from her friend's room, her hand removed the red orb and held onto it as she made her way over to the room.

Jaden sighed and hopped Alexis would stay quiet.

--

"Another one?!" exclaimed the figure.

"Yes, I'm sorry but-" stuttered the second person, "but the orb discovered that the one that took it from its power source had more than normal strength."

"How could we use that!" roared the darkened figure, "I am tired of this! I need information that will solve this case!"

"Yes, yes," squeaked the second person. He hurried from the room, hoping to find a solution.

* * *

It's coming along…. Did you know the term, _mess_, is actually the correct word for identifying a group of police? It's like saying a bunch of horses is a herd… ;)

Please leave a review; **not leaving a review, is like eating at a restaurant and not leaving a tip**!


	14. Memories of a Forgotten time

**I do not own W.I.T.C.H.**

* * *

**Chapter 5)**_** Memories of a Forgotten time**_

The silence of the classroom was peaceful as Ulani copied down the notes her French teacher wrote on the board. Other students doodled or watched as the list of irregular verbs grew from five to ten and then onto twenty. There was only ten more minutes until the class ended, but some of the students had already begun to pack up their bags and put their books away.

"Students," Ulani's teacher spoke, "I have not dismissed you yet!" None of the students paid her any attention and continued to pack up.

"Fine, everyone, put your things away, because we are having a pop quiz!" the teacher scowled. Ulani put the notebook she had been writing with away inside her bag and passed the stack of tests backwards to the rest of her classmates.

"The question is, 'what are the irregular verbs of past tense?' you have five minutes," the teacher said. The students groaned and glanced at one another's papers, hoping to think of the ones that their teacher had just written on the board moments ago. Ulani patiently inscribed eighteen of the twenty verbs she remembered; thinking back to her notebook page, she remembered another but was at a loss for the last. Three minutes to the bell, their teacher had them exchange quizzes and grade them.

Ulani marked her partner's quiz with an **F** as the teacher went over the answers and handed it back. A happy smile broke over her face when she saw a bright **A **written in pink highlighter. The Rokadorian girl turned in her quiz and took her seat to wait until the bell released the class from the last period of the day. Ulani let her hand rise to her black hair and find the feather; she smiled, closing her grey eyes.

"Did you see what she got?" whispered girl who had graded Ulani's paper to her friend. Ulani turned away from them; she was used to hearing others talk about her behind her back. As long as she tuned them out, it would not affect her.

"How'd she get an A?" whispered the girls' friend.

"I bet her parents force her to get straight A's," suggested Ulani's partner, "they probably make her study all day and night too."

"I'd kill my parents if they'd make me do that!" said the girl. The bell rang, and the students and teacher exited the classroom, leaving Ulani alone to process what she had heard.

"My parents," she sighed, images flooding her mind. Slowly, Ulani left the classroom and found Jaden waiting for her to walk home. The spring wind blew the two girls' hair into their eyes as they walked. Jaden said nothing to Ulani as they walked away from the school; Ulani figured the girl knew she was not in the mood. The guardian of air enjoyed the warm wind as she watched Jaden for a moment. The blond had just been to the doctor's office to get her cast removed after only three weeks. Laughing to herself, she remembered how shocked everyone had been to learn how fast it had healed, everyone except Cornelia. Jaden's mother seemed to taken it in stride, almost as if she had expected it to have been healed already.

Making her way inside, Ulani bounded up the stairs and shut herself inside her bedroom. She collapsed on the bed and pulled the covers over her head. A single tear slid down her cheek as she remembered the last time she had done this, except, she had still had her wings then. Her eyes glazed over with unshed tears as the words of her classmates come back to her mind. Ulani closed her grey, teary eyes and let her memories of a forgotten place swallow her mind.

_The warm summer air rushed down the market, sending fabrics and other light items into the air. Young children raced along the shops and through a throng of people; their only worries were of who was it in their game. A small girl, too young for her wings to have grown in yet, sat perched atop her _

_father's broad shoulders. A woman walked at his side, their hands intertwined, her eyes full of sunshine as they walked through the market. The young girl smiled happily, pulling at her father's folded wings to keep her balance. Stopping to let the young girl down, the father stooped to his knees and adorned his daughter's pale forehead with a gentle kiss. The smile broadened on the child's face as she took both her parent's hands to continue their journey home. _

_After stopping to buy food, the girl's father paused. Locks of long, black hair spun as the grey eyed girl turned to see what had made her father hesitate. Before her eyes stood five soldiers armed with their swords._

"_Ulani, stay back," muttered the young girl's mother as she pulled her child toward her. Ulani's small hand slipped from her father's as her mother pulled her into her arms, kneeling beside her on the ground. The closest soldier unsheathed his sword, brandishing it before her father's face._

"_You are under arrest, please come with us," soldier spoke. Ulani's father made no move to comply. The crowd stood around them, holding their breath, hoping nothing too serious would befall anyone. Murmurs began circulating; what could this man have done, surely nothing to aggravate the king, right?_

"_On what account?" the man questioned._

"_Do you wish for all your neighbors to know your fault?" the soldier inquired, raising his eyebrows._

"_I have done nothing wrong," Ulani's father said. The crowd grew silent._

"_Your arrest is warranted by the king for your actions to encourage others to fly," the soldier recited._

"_I have done no such thing, no one would," the man demanded. Ulani blinked in shock along with the rest of the rest of the crowd. Flying? It had been banned since the previous king's death, and no one ever seemed to want to take to the sky anyway._

"_Do you refuse to come with us?" asked the soldier, "if so, you have chosen your death." Ulani watched as her father stood, the swords of the five soldiers pointed at him; she buried her face in her mother's dress and hugged her tight._

"Stop!" Ulani cried, forcing herself to forget the sounds the sword made as they sliced through the air. Tears flowed down her face, her grey eyes tinted red. She wiped away the tears and sniffled, trying to hold back the rest of them. She had done nothing to try and alter the course of events that had taken place that day and had just recently gotten over her nightmares that reminded her of her old home.

"Home," the Rokadorian girl muttered. The simple word brought back a fresh wave of hot, salty tears to her eyes.

_A cloaked figure slowly closed the door to the two-roomed home that she shared with her mother. The girl removed her hood, freeing her ebony locks from underneath and set two pieces of bread on the table. She pushed open the door to the back room and quietly entered. On the bed lay her mother, a ghost in comparison of what she used to be five years ago, when her father was still alive. Since that day, the two of them had lost everything. Without Ulani's father, the two of them could not afford to keep their home and bring home enough food. _

"_Mom?" questioned the young girl. She threw herself on the bed next to her mother and laid her head on her chest, "please get better." Her tears fell onto the blanket her mother was wrapped in. She sobbed for a few minutes until her mother's voice broke the silence. Even though she was on the verge of death, her voice still held strength._

"_Ulani, hush," she spoke._

"_Mom," Ulani whispered, she wiped away her tears and pulled off her cloak, producing a book from the inner pocket, "I brought back a new book for you-"_

"_Ulani," her mother said again, her eyes swept over her daughter, "your wings, they're still white."_

"_No, they'll change soon," Ulani promised, "just like you'll get better soon, right?" Ulani's mother turned away from her daughter's face, her breathing became shallower._

"_Right?!" begged the girl._

"_You'll have to be brave," the woman said, "it won't be for much longer that you'll have to suffer here Ulani. You have a great future ahead of you, I know it. I love you Ulani."_

"_Mom?" Ulani questioned, "no, you can't leave me alone!" Ulani collapsed on the bed next to her mother and released the pent up tears hiding in her sad eyes._

Ulani dabbed at her eyes with a piece of Kleenex from the box on the small table next to her bed. Her whole life had been taken away from her, starting that day her father was killed. She searched her mind for a time when her father would have broken a law, but her mind would not let her find any flaws in either of her parents.

Then, she remembered a normal day that she would have normally over looked. Her mind would not have connected it with flying when her father was killed in the market when she had been little, but now, she gasped. In her mind's eye she watched herself with her arms straight out like a bird begging to be tossed higher by her father. He complied and she flew up through the air. Without the slightest bit of her wings grown in, she did not remained long in the air, but her curiosity and love for the sky had been ignited in the single instant. The next day she remembered herself shouting for her father to catch her as she jumped from their raised porch into his open arms while all the neighbors watched, worry for her safety written on their faces. When her father caught her in his arms and swung her around to lessen the impact, their expressions turned to those of disdain and scorn.

"Did _I_…" Ulani stuttered, her hand flew to her mouth as she gasped in surprise, "was that what the soldier meant? Encouraging _me_ to fly?" The realization hit her like one of Brianna's lightning bolts; _what I did.._

Her tears reappeared as she then thought about her mother, her death was directly tied to that of her father's. Ulani collapsed on her bed and buried her face in the pillows. No doubt existed in her mind to otherwise persuade her that she was reason her parents were no longer with her now. Pulling the bed covers over her head, Ulani wished she could become one with the wind outside and disappear…

--

Ulani watched Rachel and Jaden from across the table, silent as a mouse. All day she had stayed quiet; she had not answered any questions and seemed to stay unnoticed. She had even walked in late to her science class when her bag had been caught in a locker, yet she did not get into trouble. Her teacher had not even noticed her; it was almost as if she had not been seen by anyone in the class, like she had been invisible.

"Ulani," Jaden said, "you're quieter than usual, are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Ulani said. She brushed her hair behind her shoulders. She rubbed her nose as a breezed carried in a surge of spring air. As if someone had tickled her nose with a feather, Ulani sneezed. The two trays of food that held Jaden and Rachel's lunches flipped over and nailed the two girls with their contents.

Ulani's grey eyes opened wide in surprise as the trays of food slipped down and clanked onto the floor. Kids from neighboring tables laughed and flicked pieces of stray food at each other. Jaden wiped the water from her face and dusted the leaves of lettuce off of her skirt.

"What happened?" questioned Rachel picking pieces of broccoli out of her hair and off her shirt.

"I just sneezed," stuttered Ulani.

"It's like you used your powers over air," Jaden reasoned, "Rachel, a little help?" Glancing around, Rachel raised her hand and discreetly pulled the water from Jaden's face and directed it into an empty cup.

"Thanks," Jaden smiled. Ulani bit her lip and watched as the two girls tidied themselves up.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," Ulani apologized.

"It's ok, you probably still don't have a firm control on your powers," Jaden reasoned, thinking back to when to own powers had acted up. She figured that the two occasions were just coincidences, and she pushed it aside. Ulani pulled at her hair and sat in silence as the bell rang. She made her way throughout the rest of the school day without so much as a stray breeze crossing her path.

Leaving school as the final bell chimed, she found Rachel and walked with her towards where Jaden was waiting. A flash of red appeared from behind a group of other students and moved towards the blond. Ulani and Rachel watched as Brianna and Jaden began walking away from the school.

"Jaden, wait for us!" called Rachel, waving her hand to catch the girl's attention. The blond paused and waited with Brianna as Rachel and Ulani made their way over.

"Jaden said she'd come shopping with me, do you want to come?" offered Brianna. Ulani saw she did not want them too, but she also knew that Brianna knew Jaden probably would not go alone.

"But I don't have any money," Rachel sighed.

"I have my credit card," Brianna shrugged, "you can pay me back." The four girls left the school and walked down the sidewalk towards the city. After a few minutes of silence, Brianna led them down to the main shopping street and spoke up.

"I'm so glad Alexis isn't here," Brianna smiled, "she's still at that school and nowhere near _me._"

"Brianna," Jaden said, biting her lip, "Alexis is-"

"Don't tell me," Brianna sighed, her smile fading, "she broke out, didn't she?"

"Yeah," Jaden nodded.

"And let me guess," Brianna continued, "she's at your house." Jaden nodded. Rachel giggled at Brianna's expression.

A rush of cold air flew down the street, rustling papers and sending in dark, menacing clouds from the southwest. The strand of black hair with the feather, flipped out in front of Ulani's face, tugging and pulling to be free to dance in the wind. Ulani looked up and watched the clouds. The street was empty, save for two cars stopped at a stoplight up ahead, but otherwise, the street was devoid of people.

"Do you hear that?" asked Jaden. The group paused. Sirens screamed from the distance, their shrill calls climbing up and down in pitch through the air.

"Those are tornado sirens, we'd better get home," Brianna said, panic in her vice, "I think my house is the closest, let's go."

"No, wait," Ulani spoke. The wind danced around her more than the others, whipping up her hair and ruffling her jacket with its tender touch.

"We can't, tornadoes are dangerous; we have to go somewhere safe!" Brianna exclaimed, her voice rising as the sirens grew louder.

"This wind feels different," Ulani said, holding her hands out as if to touch it, "come on." She jogged off to the left, heading north to where the wind was blowing, the other three girls following behind her.

"Ulani!" Brianna cried, "where are we going?" Ulani stopped in front of an electronics store and jumped when one of the TVs in the window came to life was Brianna neared her nervousness jumping from her in tangible bolts. Brianna pressed her ear to the glass to hear it. The news had started, the top story being that there was a large F5 tornado to the north of Heatherfield, and all residents should take cover. The storm on the screen had formed an angry, black funnel cloud, slowly spinning, tearing up the earth below it.

"I told you, it's just a tornado Ulani," Brianna said, "now come on, let's get out of here!"

"Can't you feel it Brianna?" asked Ulani, "this is _not_ an ordinary storm, the wind is… different." A strong gust of wind blasted the four girls as they stood huddled in a circle.

"Let's go!" pleaded Brianna. The sirens wailed louder.

"Brianna, I think Ulani's right," Jaden said.

"We'll need Alexis," Rachel added.

"I'll get her," Jaden volunteered. She dropped her bag on the ground and took off down the sidewalk with her ground eating stride. The three remaining girls grabbed her bag and disappeared behind a building in an alley.

Alexis and Jaden appeared around the corner after a few minutes, panting lightly in the brisk air. Brianna dug the pink crystal out of her bag and held it up. The jewel glittered in the dingy light, as if showing its happiness to finally be receiving some attention.

"Guardians Unite!" Brianna called. The five colored orbs burst from the heart and spiraled into the air, enveloping each girl.

"Water."

"Fire."

"Earth."

"Air."

"Quintessence." The five girls took to the sky, leaving their things in the alley. Ulani's white wings flashed in the dim sunlight as she flew northeast. The girls followed behind, listening as the sirens blared below them. Alexis stretched her butterfly wings as she glided, happy to be free of Jaden's house. As they flew further north, the wind increased, making their journey more difficult. Finally, Brianna spotted the storm.

"It's not moving," Rachel noticed, "at least not like a normal tornado." As the words left her mouth, the black funnel shifted and raced towards them.

"That's not normal!" panicked Brianna.

"What a chicken," joked Alexis.

"Don't fight with _each other_!" Jaden commanded. Ulani swooped away as the wind pulled at her wings, threatening to suck her into the vortex. The tornado raced towards them, yet the base of the funnel remained rooted to the ground in one spot. Alexis turned and blasted a round of fire blasts. The flames disappeared like candles on the birthday cake as they came near the tornado. Jaden called up earth and soil from the ground while Rachel sent streams of water towards the wind. The two elements, unlike the first which was snuffed out, were blown back at them in the form of stinging ice crystals and sharp sand grains. Brianna tried her luck, but her energy blasts simply passed through the storm, leaving no damage.

"How can we fight something we can't touch?!" asked Alexis. The spiral of angry wind stretched out for them, yet its base remained tethered to the same spot, ripping up the dirt. Ulani turned from the funnel cloud to the other guardians and smiled.

"I have an idea," she grinned. Happiness brightened her pale face, chasing her sad and nervousness away. She dove through the air, her massive, powder white wings carrying her just out of reach of the storm's grasp. Banking to the right, Ulani led the girls in a clockwise spiral around the tornado.

"We have to confuse the wind currents!" explained Ulani, shouting over the sounds which rivaled roaring freight trains. The girls understood and flew in concentric circles, one on top of the other, forcing the air to mix and form eddies in the sky, weakening the funnel cloud. Pulling with her currents of air, Ulani worked at the top, the largest area to cover, battling the interchanging thermals the other four guardians were unknowingly creating. Suddenly, Ulani flew through a series of alternating streams of air and lost her sense of balance in the air. Her large wings, quickly caught up by the tornado's power, dragged her within its dark vortex.

Disappearing from the outside world, Ulani battled her own element, trying to stay aloft. Out of the corner of her eye, a piece of debris, most likely a board of wood, flew at her, hitting her wing. Grey eyes wide, she felt the impact and her stomach lurched as she fell from the clouds to the ground. Her 

eyes watered as she fell through the air, but she noticed something she had not seen before. At the center of the funnel cloud's vortex, a lone wind turbine, its rotor blade spinning crazily, stood alone. Using her uninjured wing, Ulani tired to slow her fall, but she only managed to succeed in hitting her shoulder against the unyielding metal frame of the turbine.

Another flying piece of wood almost hit her as she slid down, leaning against the metal and collapsing onto the ground. Her head ached as the air in the funnel grew thinner and thinner. Dust and ice crystals rained upon her as she sat.

Vibrations raced along the wind turbine as some large object struck it from above. Without thinking about it, Ulani looked up just in time to reach out and block a falling object from hitting her. Pain shot through her injured wing and she squeezed her hands around the pearly grey object and brought it before her face. Her hand found no faults in the object; her grey eyes studied the orb before closing as she lost consciousness.

Outside the funnel cloud, Jaden pointed to the dying storm.

"Look, the tornado is breaking up!" The girls stopped flying in their circles and gathered together in the air. A lone silver grey light floated up to Brianna and disappeared into the heart at her neck.

"Something's happened to Ulani!" Brianna exclaimed, "her power's returned to the heart!"

"There!" pointed Alexis, "she's on the ground!"

Ulani could just barely make out four figures approaching her from the sky. She could no longer feel her wings as she leaned against the metal post of the turbine and groaned as the pain from her shoulder occupied her mind. Her hands closed tighter around the orb; she closed her eyes as she heard the other girl's voices above her.

--

Ulani sat up in her bed, wincing as pain ripped across her back where her wings should have been . She looked up as she relaxed against her pillows to see a pair of green eyes watching her. The door opened as Alexis poked her head inside.

"Jaden, your parents just got home," Alexis whispered, "oh, Ulani you're up. Are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm just sore," Ulani nodded.

"Alexis, go and hide, they can't know you are here!" hissed Jaden.

"Yeah, yeah," Alexis laughed, "I'm going." Jaden pushed Alexis out of the room after giving Ulani a quick once over, and she closed the door behind her. Ulani released a deep sigh and released her tense muscles. The silver orb rolled out of her hands and onto the bed. Ulani gave it a quizzical look and pulled it into her lap. As the sun disappeared from the sky, the Rokadorian girl studied the strange sphere.

--

"I have good news!" exclaimed a voice as its owner rushed into the darkened room. Streams of previously unseen light proceeded to attempt to flood the room with their bright rays.

"What?" asked a calm man. The person stood just out of reach of the sunlight.

"I have discovered the form of the person that has taken out the most recent device," the silhouette explained. The figure held out its hand, palm up, exposing a small disc like object. A blurry, constantly shifting image, in the rough form of a teenage girl, appeared above it like a hologram, lighting up the dark room.

"Good," nodded the man in charge, "I expect you to deal with this intervention accordingly, we need to find out what she knows…"

* * *

More of Ulani's past… how sad ;), poor girl… otherwise it was kinda short… I tried to make it sad, but I'm not too good at heartbreaking scenes… tell me how you liked it, please… I _am_ getting to the real plot, which is not _totally_ original, but with finals just over and school out, my brain is just fried….makes puppy-dog eyes … **R&R**


	15. A Jolt of Reality

**I do not own W.I.T.C.H.**

* * *

**Chapter 6)**_** A Jolt of Reality**_

"Jaden!" called Brianna. Jaden made her way down the front sidewalk of Sheffield Institute as the final bell rang. The sunlight reflected off of Brianna's red hair as she pushed it behind her ears, waiting. The guardian of earth ambled over, Ulani at her heels, spinning a strand of her long raven hair around her finger. Spring had come in full force; the weathermen had predicted highs in the mid sixties for the rest of the week. _Perfect for shopping_, thought Brianna.

"Hey Brianna," Jaden smiled. Ulani watched the two older girls and followed them from the school. Only a few days had passed since the tornado, but she was sore where her wings should have been and still confused as to the meaning behind the grey orb now in her possession. The three girls walked down the sidewalk at a leisurely pace. The trees above them had already begun to sprout new spring growth. Small budding flowers and sprigs appeared on every plant in the city. Brianna shifted her bag to her other shoulder and turned to Jaden.

"So Jaden, what are you doing today?" she asked.

"Going home," Jaden replied, "but my parents have a surprise for me."

"Oh," sighed Brianna, "so you'll be busy."

"Yeah, why?" asked Jaden. She turned around as they walked to make sure Ulani was still following.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to come with me to the mall to go shopping," Brianna sighed.

"Sorry Brianna," Jaden apologized, "I'll come with you next time."

"Ok, see you tomorrow," Brianna called as she parted from the other two guardians and turned down her street. She hurried up through her front door, pushed it open, and dropped her bag on the floor. Her mother poked her head out of the archway that led to the kitchen.

"Mom," said Brianna, "can you drive me to the mall? Ashley and Courtney are meeting me there." Will nodded, put down whatever she was working with at the moment, and called up the stairs to Aaron that she would be back in twenty minutes.

--

Brianna thanked her mother as she opened the car door and slid out. Brianna promised to call for a ride home and watched her mother drive away. Flipping her red hair behind her ears, Brianna turned and walked into the mall. Immediately spotting her two friends, Ashley and Courtney, she hurried over so they could begin their shopping.

"So Brianna," Ashley smiled, running her fingers through her wavy golden hair, "guess what my parents bought me for my birthday."

"A new credit card?" questioned Courtney, "my dad just raised my limit! We can shop all day!"

"No, I didn't get a new card," Ashley laughed.

"Then what did you get?" Brianna asked.

"They bought me a car!" squealed Ashley.

"No way!" Courtney exclaimed.

"Really?" Brianna questioned, "what kind is it?"

"A convertible!" replied Ashley, "its electric blue!"

"We'll have to take a road trip," smiled Courtney.

"You're right," cheered Ashley.

"You're so lucky, I'm happy for you" Brianna lied. Turning away, Brianna faked interest in the passing displays and frowned. Why _did __**her**__ parents get her a car? I've been sixteen for almost half a year_ _now!_ Her jealousy threatened to reveal itself on her face; sparks of electricity jumped across her bangs, but no one seemed to notice.

"Oh! Look at this new store!" Ashley squealed again. Brianna whipped her head around and saw the two girls disappear into the new jewelry store.

"Hurry up Brianna," Courtney called, poking her head out of the store. Brianna hurried into the store and glanced at the shinning displays. Diamonds, Austrian crystal, and the less precious cubic zirconium sparkled under the special crystal lights.

"Which pair do you like better?" questioned Courtney, "I want a pair of this kind of earrings."

"Don't you already have a set of crystal earrings?" questioned Ashley

"I have a few, but these are more expensive, and shiny!" smiled Courtney. She called the attendant over and held up the diamond earrings to her ears. She pulled back her thick black hair and turned her head to the side, watching the light catch on the shinning surface.

"I think I'll buy them," Courtney smiled, she turned to Brianna, "aren't you going to get anything?"

"Of course Brianna stuttered. She looked around for something to impress Ashley and Courtney and to make them jealous. A pink sparkle captured her blue eyes. The crystal hanging on a display neck was cut into a small oval. Within the center, a fissure burst with rose pink light in the form of a flashing lightning bolt. Brianna touched the necklace through the glass.

"I like this one," Brianna announced. The cashier opened the case, cocked her eyebrows at Brianna, and carried the necklace over to the register.

"Are you sure?" the cashier asked as Brianna and the other girls walked over to pay. Courtney watched the women place her new earrings in a case and hand her the box over the counter.

"Where should we go next?" questioned Ashley. Courtney and Ashley watched as Brianna opened her purse and pulled out her credit card.

"Brianna, are you sure you want _that_ necklace?" asked Courtney, "I like it, but isn't it kinda expensive?" Brianna narrowed her eyes, her temper rising as she thought to herself, _do they think I can't afford this? Who do they think I am?_ She pushed her red hair from her eyes with the hand that held her card. Sparks snaked down her hair, tickling her fingers as she moved her hair behind her ears. The cashier took Brianna's credit card and swiped it through the machine. A beep sounded, and the card was slid through the register again. The women raised her eyebrows and tapped Brianna's card against the countertop next to the cash register.

"I'm sorry, but there seems to be an issue regarding your card," The cashier said, "it seems to have no information on it."

"What?" questioned Brianna, leaning over the counter to try and see the error message.

"Brianna," Ashley sighed, "let's just go, your card probably just has too high a limit for this place." The cashier narrowed her eyes at Ashley and placed the necklace behind the counter.

"If you girls will just step into the back room, I'm required to make a few phone calls," the women stated.

"See you Brianna! Have fun," mumbled Courtney as the two girls darted from the store.

"Ashley, Courtney!" called Brianna. Her cheeks flushed bright red as she was led into the back room behind the cashier's station. The lights in the store flickered as she pulled out her cell phone. The phone sparked as energy bolts jumped from Brianna's fingers onto it. Brianna flinched when he scolded her and called home.

"Hello?" answered Will's voice.

"Mom?" questioned Brianna.

"Brianna? Are you girls ready to come back already?" questioned her mother.

"No," sighed Brianna, "Mom, my credit card is broken. I'm at the jewelry store at the mall." Brianna blinked away tears, her face growing more flushed as she spoke. "Can you come and get me?" Will promised to be there are fast as traffic permitted and hung up. Brianna sat down and flipped open her phone just to snap it closed once more. She sat alone repeating the movement to pass the time; the women at the desk seemed to have forgotten she was back there. After waiting for what seemed to Brianna as an unbearably long fraction of time, the red head heard her mother's voice at the register.

"Brianna," Will smiled when she found her daughter, "what happened?" Brianna looked up at her mother and forced a sad smile onto her lips.

"Your father came to straighten things out with the card at the bank," Will explained as Matt appeared from behind her. Brianna smiled at her father and waited with Will as the cashier explained the situation. Matt spoke with the lady at the counter to verify that Brianna did in fact own the credit card.

Will led Brianna back to car to wait for Matt to finish inside. As the two sat waiting in the parking lot, Will glanced into the rearview mirror to see her daughter. She watched Brianna stare out the window at the parked cars around them; her blue eyes were tinted pink from tears that had yet to fall.

The car door opened and shut as Matt returned. He handed Brianna a small bag and then gave the credit card to Will.

"What do you want to me to do with this?" questioned Will holding up the card.

"The women at the desk said it had been erased, she suggested by a strong electric charge or a magnet. Can't you fix it?" Matt stated. Will raised her eyebrows playfully.

"No Matt, I can't fix it," she mocked, "what did you buy Brianna?" Brianna slowly reached into the bag and pulled out the crystal pendent. Sparkling in the sunlight, Brianna gazed into the pink fissure, losing herself in her thoughts.

--

Brianna walked into the cafeteria with her lunch, making her way to the table where Ashley and Courtney had already set up. Her mind was still on the shopping trip from yesterday; one glance at the two girls happily gossiping sent her face a shade redder.

"Ashley, Courtney!" called Brianna. She put her lunch on the table across from them and leaned over it.

"Thanks for ditching me yesterday," Brianna stated. The two girls stopped talking, looked, at each other, and glanced back up at Brianna.

"So, how's the card?" questioned Courtney.

"Did you get it back?" asked Ashley.

"Yes, and no," Brianna sighed, "my dad got it back, but it really was blank. The bank has it now."

"Did you get a new one?" Courtney asked.

"No, my parents said I can't get another one until this one comes back," Brianna sighed, "and that could take forever."

"Brianna," Ashley stated, folding her hands onto the table in front of her, "Courtney and I decided that you can't sit with us anymore at lunch."

"Very funny Ashley," Brianna snapped.

"No really Brianna," Ashley explained, her face held as much seriousness as she could manage, "you publically embarrassed us yesterday, and now you don't have your credit card anymore. You can't sit here."

"Fine," Brianna stuttered. She snatched up her lunch and turned around. Her voice threatened to crack, "you'll be begging me to come back." Brianna bit her lip and hurried away from the table; she had traversed halfway through the lunchroom when she realized that she did not know anyone else in the lunchroom to sit with. Blinking back the beginnings of hot tears, the guardian of energy caught sight of Jaden.

"Jaden!" called Brianna, hoping to get the blond's attention. Jaden did not seem to notice and continued eating her lunch. Brianna picked her way through the crowded tables. She walked up behind where Jaden was seated at her table and paused. The blond was animatedly talking to Rachel and Ulani, and Brianna felt she was in no position to interrupt. She stood behind her for another moment before Ulani's grey eyes glanced up and saw her.

"Hi Brianna," smiled Ulani shyly. Jaden turned and grinned at the red head.

"Hey Brianna," she said.

"Hey Jaden," Brianna paused, "can I sit here?" Brianna looked at each of the girls at the table, suddenly glad Alexis wasn't among them.

"Sure, we have tons of room," Jaden smiled. Brianna down next to Jaden and proceeded to unpack her lunch. Jaden resumed her conversation while Brianna sat back and listened.

--

Brianna pushed open her front door, kicked off her shoes, and made her way to her room. She passed Aaron on the hallway, but she ducked into her bedroom before he could annoy her. Dropping her bag on the bed, Brianna buried her head in her pillows and closed her blue eyes to her tears. A soft knock sounded at the door, but Brianna ignored it.

"Brianna?" questioned Will's voice.

"What?" snapped Brianna, sitting up, clutching the pillow to her chest, her back to her mother in the doorway. She pushed her bangs behind her ears and dropped her pillow back onto the bedspread.

"Is my credit card fixed?"

"No," Will answered flatly. She walked into the room and sat down on Brianna's bed next to her daughter.

"What's wrong?" Will asked, her voice gently coaxing her daughter to answer, "I know it's not your credit card."

"It is!" Brianna whined, "Ashley and Courtney won't let me sit at the table anymore because I don't have my card." Will was silent for a moment as she took in the absurd statement her daughter had just told her.

"And we were going to have a party tonight for the weekend," Brianna explained.

"Why don't you have your own party," Will suggested, "you could invite the g-" Brianna interrupted her and jumped up to her phone.

"I'm going to call Jaden," Brianna smiled, "thanks mom."

"As long as you watch Aaron when we're gone," Will reminded her. She got to her feet and walked from the room, leaving Brianna to make her phone call.

"Hello?" came Jaden's voice over the phone.

"Jaden? It's Brianna. Did you want to come over for a sleepover tonight?" asked Brianna, "my parents will be gone, so we'll have to keep an eye on Aaron. Do you want to come?"

"Sure," Jaden answered, "How about seven o'clock?"

"Sounds good," Brianna agreed, "see you at seven." The phone turned off as Jaden hung up and Brianna put the receiver back on her night table. She rushed off to prepare.

--

The door bell chimed throughout the house; Brianna slid across the floor in her socks to answer it. She gathered herself and pulled open the door. Her smile fell as she saw who stood in front of her house, but she quickly recovered her composure and welcomed them inside.

"Hi everyone," Brianna forced to say in a cheery voice. She watched as Rachel, Ulani, and Alexis sauntered inside. Alexis looked around and turned to Brianna.

"It's nice to be somewhere other than that room at Jaden's," she joked and turned to the blond, "no offense Jaden."

"None taken," came Jaden's voice. Brianna pulled Jaden aside as the other three girls moved into the kitchen.

"Jaden, why are _they_ here," demanded Brianna in hushed tones.

"Because I thought it would be ok if they came," Jaden replied, "you never said they couldn't come." Brianna took a calming breath and followed the others into the kitchen to where small platters of food were set out. Alexis was happily munching from a bowl of chips and salsa as Ulani and Rachel simply watched her.

"So," Alexis stated as Brianna and Jaden entered the room, "let's get this party started!" Brianna nodded and smiled, happy to let someone else take charge.

The girls pulled out the stack of movies that Brianna had stored near the wide screen TV. They picked one and began watching it in the dark. The five girl's eyes were riveted on the screen, their faces reflecting the images. A flash lit up the sky outside followed by a low rumble of thunder. Only Ulani seemed to notice. She pulled her knees to her chest and glanced nervously at the window.

As the movie reached the critical in the plot where the suspense was just about to be broken, the TV went dark.

"Brianna!" screamed Aaron's voice from his room upstairs.

"Did you turn the lights off?" questioned Rachel.

"No," replied Brianna. The room flashed bright with light from outside and a boom of thunder soon followed. Heavy footfalls sounded down the stairway and across the kitchen.

"Brianna!" cried Aaron, "I'm scared, and why'd the lights go out? Turn them back on!"

"Aaron, be quiet," Brianna scolded, "it's just a thunderstorm." Aaron jumped onto the couch and curled up between Ulani and Jaden. Ulani pulled at her hair gently and shivered as another lightning bolt flashed through the sky.

"Ulani," Rachel mumbled, "are you ok?"

"I don't like thunderstorms," Ulani admitted as she covered her ears and closed her grey eyes tight against the storm.

"Come on Ulani," Alexis coaxed, "didn't they have thunderstorms in Rok-, where you used to live?" Aaron did not seem to notice her slip up and cuddled against Jaden for protection from the storm.

"It never stormed like _this_," Ulani stuttered. Another bolt flashed across the sky; both Aaron and Ulani whimpered to themselves. The bolts of lightning began to strike more quickly than before. Rachel moved to the window, noting to herself that no rain had fallen.

"Look," Rachel pointed. Alexis and Brianna walked over followed by Jaden as soon as she was freed from Aaron. They gathered around the window, trying to see what Rachel was pointing at.

"What's happening?" questioned Alexis, watching what appeared to be a pole continuously struck by lightning.

"Do you think it's the reason that the power went out?" wondered Jaden.

"It could be," Brianna suggested.

"What might make that happen?" questioned Alexis, repeating her question from before.

"Let's go check it out," Jaden

"Ulani," Alexis stated, "let's go."

"Where are you going?" questioned Aaron, "Don't leave me here alone!"

"Story crying Aaron," Brianna snapped, "we're going to fix the lights, we'll be right back." The five girls hurried outside and watched the lightning in the sky course towards the pole.

"Let's fly," grinned Alexis. Brianna looked around and nodded in agreement. She pulled on the cord around her neck; the Heart and the crystal pendent flash as the light from the sky bounced off of them.

"Nice necklace," complimented Rachel, "where'd-"

"Let's not talk about it," Brianna scowled, "Guardians Unite!"

"Water,"

"Fire,"

"Earth,"

"Air,"

"Quintessence!" The five girls took to the sky and flew towards the lightning rod. Rain had just begun to fall, dampening the ground below them and spotting their outfits. Each flash of lightning Ulani flinched, but she pushed onward, flapping her feathered wings through the rain. Extending her hand, Rachel reached out to grasp the raindrops above them, shielding them from the pelting rain of bullets slowly soaking them. They flew on, watching the lightning snake through the sky above them; loud thunder blasts rippled through the air.

"Almost there!" Rachel called, twisting around to get a better angle to control the water above them. The lightning attracting electrical pole grew closer as they flew each second. The light was impossibly bright against the dark backdrop of the stormy sky. Houses passed under them as Brianna led them further from her own home.

A flash of lightning erupted close the group of guardians, blasting Rachel out of the sky. The air around her scorched her wings and hands, throwing her into shock and out of balance. Ulani's heart skipped a beat as she saw Rachel start to lose altitude and fall towards the pavement. Taking action, Jaden dove and caught her just before she hit the street.

"Brianna, Alexis!" called Jaden as she landed in the middle of the empty residential street amidst the now pouring rain, "You two go ahead, I'll stay here with Rachel."

"What about Ulani?" asked Alexis, calling down to Jaden from above. The girls looked to Ulani, still shell-shocked from the lightning, slowly coming down from the sky and landing near Jaden. Her feathered wings dripped with rain water that simply rolled off the other girls' wings.

"She can't fly anymore," Jaden explained, "go ahead! We'll be fine." Alexis nodded and the two remaining girls flew off, leaving Jaden with Rachel and Ulani on the ground. The sky was as light as day as the lightning flashed continuously.

"There!" Alexis pointed. The two girls landed on the other side of the street from the electrical pole. Standing side by side, the two girls turned to one another.

"So, now what?" asked Brianna.

"I guess we have to figure out what is attracting all the lightning." Before the two guardians had a chance to react, a bolt of energy blasted towards them from the pole. The lightning in the sky had calmed, leaving the city dark once again. The electric pole was the only beacon of light as the lightning's energy radiated from it. Tendrils of electricity reached out grabbing for the two girls as they took to the sky.

Alexis reached out her hands and sent a ball of fire at the pole, hoping to incinerate the wood. Instead of causing damage, the fire provided a line for the electricity to travel down. Alexis' eyes widened as she saw a bolt of energy fly towards her through her fire. Brianna saw Alexis hit the pavement as the electricity knocked her backwards out of the sky. Lightning struck the pole again, seeming to recharge it from the energy it had just expelled on Alexis.

Brianna swooped down, avoiding the wild tangents of lightning extending from the electrical pile. Hovering near the top of the pole, Brianna was at a loss of how to deal with it. She pulled her red hair behind her ears and reached out her hand. A sphere of energy blasted at the lines feeding the pole, snapping several of them; they fell, sparkling, to the ground below, showering the wet grass with biting sparks. Reacting, the tower of energy shot out a barrage of lightning streams at Brianna. Dancing in the air, she dove towards their source to avoid being hit. Her mind flew back to Alexis on the ground as she found herself inches from the electric box atop the pole.

Brianna put both of her hands out in front of her and began to form another energy blast in them. A sphere amidst the steel bars and metal rectangles caught her blue eyes and caused her to 

hesitate. _What is that?_ She questioned. Brianna reached out, careful to avoid the energy coursing pieces that made up the wiring system. Spark jumped out at her, biting her skin as she fingers just reached the orb. Wincing, the guardian of energy closed her fingers around the angry sphere and pulled it lose. The orb seemed to be the completion piece for the circuit in the electric current, because once it was freed, the lightning dissipated back into the air and ground. The storm, no longer attracted to the lightning rod slowed and the lightning waned into nothingness. Brianna sighed heavily as she felt her body shake from the electricity around her. She gripped the orb tighter in her hands fearing it might slip. Her eyes opened wide at the thought of falling.

"Alexis!" called Brianna. She swooped down and landed next to Alexis as the fire guardian pushed herself up into sitting position.

"What happened?" asked Alexis.

"You were hit with lightning," Brianna said bluntly.

"Oh," Alexis nodded. The guardian of fire got to her feet and walked behind Brianna as they made their way back to the others.

"Brianna!" Alexis!" called a voice. The two girls looked up and saw Ulani descending towards them.

"Alexis," Ulani said, "What happened to you?" the Rokadorian girl grabbed Alexis' arm and let her collapse onto her small frame.

"Thanks Ulani," Alexis smiled weakly, "me and lightning don't get along very well." Brianna felt a pang of guilt that she had not asked Alexis if she needed any help.

"Jaden and Rachel are ok, they're back where they landed," Ulani explained to them. The three girls hurried back to meet with the other two guardians. They came into view after a few blocks of walking.

Brianna pulled out the heart and untransformed the five of them back into their normal outfits and ages. Jaden and Rachel joined them as they walked back.

"Rachel, how are you doing?" asked Alexis.

"Fine," Rachel answered, "Rachel answered, "what happened?"

"It's nothing," Alexis shrugged. Jaden rolled her green eyes at Alexis' comment, mocking her self-assurance. The girls made their way slowly towards Brianna's house in the dark; it was only as they reached the front door that the lights flicked on and the street was once again bathed with light from the streetlight down the block and the surrounding homes.

"Aaron!" called Brianna, "we're back!"

"Took you long enough!" shouted Aaron from his bedroom. Brianna raised her eyebrows in amazement and prepared to chuck the orb in her right hand up the stairs at his door.

"You little-" she hissed. Jaden caught her arm mid-throw.

"Brianna," she scolded, "he's only nine. He doesn't know any better."

"Says you," Brianna frowned, relaxing her grip on the orb and putting down her arm.

"Is that-?" Ulani asked and paused mid sentence.

"This thing?" asked Brianna, holding out the orb for the other girls to see, "it was attracting the lightning I think. It was _in_ the electric pole."

"I have one exactly like this," Rachel said, "except its blue. It was at the bottom of the bay when we fought that monster."

"I have one too," Alexis added, "but mine is red. I found it when we faced the fire creature at that military camp."

"I found a yellow one inside that rock monster," Jaden explained.

"Mine is grey," Ulani stated. The guardians were quiet for a moment as they contemplated the meaning of what was happening.

"So we all have one?" clarified Rachel.

"And none of us told anyone?" asked Jaden, she sighed, "we really haven't been acting like a team."

"What do you think they're for?" asked Brianna as she held the orb up to the light.

"I've looked into it," Ulani started, "but I can't think of a single possible reason for them to exist. I cannot see any use for them." The girls let silence creep up on them again as they looked at their feet.

"Come on Brianna," Alexis smiled, breaking the silence, "we have a party to continue."

"You're right," Brianna agreed. She placed the glowing sphere on the couch, safely positioned on a fluffy pillow, and pulled out a pile of games, "what should we do?"

"Twister!" Rachel smiled. She pulled the box from the pile and dumped the board and spinner onto the ground.

"You're in for it now," Alexis laughed, "I'm the best twister player ever!" Their laughter slowly seeped from the house and filled the darkness outside.

* * *

Wow… its official; all the girls have had their own chapter. School's over so, I'll be writing a lot more now, I hope. Now, on to the action :) … the story is almost over, isn't that sad?


	16. The discovery

**I do not own W.I.T.C.H. **yeah... my title might, no will be, a little- um, bad... i was out of ideas :) oh well.

* * *

**Chapter 7)**_** The discovery**_

"That was the most girlish movie I've ever seen," Alexis sighed. She led the group down the movie theater's stairs and towards the exit.

"_I_ didn't pick it out," Jaden laughed, "Brianna did."

"Figures," Alexis rolled her eyes.

"I thought it was a good movie," Rachel added. The five girls walked from the crowded movie theater onto the street of downtown Heatherfield.

"It _would_ have been _ok_ if the _whole school_ hadn't been there with us," Alexis said.

"It just came out, did you expect us to be the only ones there?" questioned Brianna.

"What did you think of the movie Ulani?" asked Jaden, hoping to avoid a conflict.

"Did those people know we were watching them?" Ulani asked, puzzling over the question. The four girls broke out into laughter as they made their way towards the bay. The sun had completely set on the horizon; the street lights bathed the city in light, illuminating people as they made their way home from wherever they were coming.

"Let's go down to the water," Alexis suggested; the girls nodded and followed her. She led them down to the sand where the tide was coming in. The moonlight reflected off the calm mirror of water as the waves slid across the sand. Rachel pulled off her flip-flops and let the cold water from the bay meet her toes.

"Why did you want to go here Alexis?" asked Ulani. Alexis did not respond. The breeze carried hints of salt which tickled her nose and settled in her hair. Ulani sighed and longed to have her wings again. Half of her begged Brianna to transform them and let her ride the breeze, but the other half knew that it was dangerous in case someone saw , and Brianna would never allow it anyway.

"Come on!" called Alexis. Rachel and Ulani sprinted over to the others as they made their way across the beach.

"Where are we going?" Jaden laughed as the waves surged around her ankles.

"You'll see," Alexis grinned.

"Alexis," Brianna stated, "you do know that the beach is closed after sunset, right?"

"What of it?" smiled Alexis. Brianna sighed heavily and stepped into place behind her. Alexis led them to a small cave and ducked inside. Jaden placed her hand on the cave wall, feeling the salty rock for support in the dark, her fingers following the grooves left by years of tides bearing sand as she walked. Alexis disappeared into the dark as she rounded a corner, leaving the others to guess where she was taking them. Ulani and Rachel were hesitant to go much further then the opening. Only upon Jaden's coaxing did they follow Brianna inside. When they rounded the bend, a flame came to life under Alexis' face. Ulani and Rachel screamed and grabbed each other in a fearful hug. Alexis exploded into laughter and the flame when out.

"You should have seen your faces!" Alexis chocked as she feel to her knees laughing.

"No one can see _anything_ in here," Brianna said. She crossed her arms over her chest, but no one saw her irritation in the dark.

"Alexis," Jaden patronized, "were you _trying_ to kill them?" Alexis' laughter stopped. She got to her feet in the dark.

"It was just a joke Jaden," Alexis said, trying to clear her name.

"That wasn't a joke," Rachel snapped.

"Ok, ok," sighed Alexis, "_sorry_."

"Can I go home now?" Brianna questioned, her boredom apparent.

"Fine," Alexis sighed. Ulani turned and took a step forward towards the moonlight around the corner of the cave and walked straight into something in her path. She felt two hands gently grab her shoulders and she screamed again. A colony of bats, annoyed for the second time that night, took flight and flew from the cave.

"Ulani!" Jaden said, "what's wrong?" Alexis snapped her fingers together and let a flame dance on her finger to see if everyone was alright. Rachel and Jaden stood to her left while Brianna waited by her right. Ulani was straight in front of her, dwarfed by a six person.

"Jaden?" asked a familiar voice. Alexis extinguished her flame and stuffed her hands inside the back pockets of her jeans.

"Jacob?" Jaden questioned, "what are you doing here?"

"Why were you following us?" Brianna demanded. Ulani stumbled backward into her.

"I," Jacob stuttered, "you- you dropped your phone at the movies Jaden."

"So you followed us all the way into a cave, where it's dark, when we're all alone, to give it back to her?" Alexis grinned, throwing a knowing glance between Jaden and Jacob.

"Alexis," Jaden scowled.

"I just caught up to you," Jacob said, "after I figured out it was yours, you had already gone down to the beach. My friends told me where you were headed."

"Thanks Jacob," Jaden said. She took her phone from him and put it in her pocket. A light popped on from down the tunnel of the cave.

"Who's in here?" asked a gruff voice. A man with a headlamp suddenly stepped up behind Alexis. The girls' eyes all went wide as they looked up at the man. Ulani took a few steps back and backed into Jaden who bumped into Jacob. He hardly kept his balenc and leaned against the cave wall.

"This beach, is closed at sunset," the man said, his voice harsh and demanding, "this cave is off limits to the public for classified reasons. What were you six doing in here?"

"N-Nothing," stuttered Rachel.

"We were just leaving," Brianna said cooly.

"You have five seconds to get out of here before I get the police," the man demanded. The five girls and Jacob scurried out of the cave and into the moonlight on the beach. The man followed them out but paid the group no more attention as he waved a small army of several more men out of the cave. Even in the dark, the girls could tell they all were dressed in white lab coats. The group of fifteen or so men hurried past them and up the incline, away from the beach, to the street and to an awaiting van.

"Do the police or the mayor know what _you'_re doing here?" Jacob questioned. The girls turned to him as if remembering he was still there.

"This is _above_ the jurisdiction of the mayor of this city," the man answered bluntly. He turned and followed the men into the black van on street, slamming the doors as he did. The tires squealed on the pavement as the vehicle sped away into the city.

"What did he mean by that?" Alexis asked, her arms crossed defensively over her chest.

"Whatever," Brianna added, "I'm ready to go. Rachel, you walk this why right?"

"Yes," Rachel answered, she turned back to the others "see you tomorrow." They waved goodbye and Jaden led them the opposite way down the beach. Ulani walked barefoot on the sand at the edge of the cold waves as they broke on the shore. Jaden watched as the moon bathed the young girl in its gentle light. Ulani turned and met Jaden's watchful gaze; offering her a small smile in return for the night's events.

"So- Jacob?" asked Alexis. Jaden slowed down and fell back to walk with the two of them. She stood on Alexis' right and Jacob walked on the guardian of fire's left, effectively showing the world that the brunette was vertically challenged. Alexis's brown eyes came to Jacob's chin, and she had always stood several inches shorter then Jaden.

"Yes?" he replied.

"So, why _did_ you walk all the way out here?" Alexis asked, her eyes glittering with mischief.

"To give Jaden her phone-"

"Sure," Alexis mocked, "You could have given it to her at school, or dropped it off at her house, but you choose to give it to her-"

"Alexis," Jaden hissed, "he just wanted to make sure I got it back."

"Yeah right," Alexis laughed, "a likely story!"

"The _real_ story!" Jacob said, his voice defensive.

"Are you _sure_?" Alexis inquired.

"Alexis, he said it was the truth ok?!" Jaden snapped.

"Ok, ok," Alexis gave in. By the time Alexis had truly given in, and the fact that she did not want Jaden yelling at her to be quiet, the group had made it back to their houses. Jacob disappeared into his house first, slightly red in the face, but not before wishing the three girls goodnight.

"Jaden," asked Alexis, "when will your parents be back?" The three girls ambled into Jaden's bedroom, and Jaden plopped down on the bed. Jaden fluffed the pillows and leaned back, watching as Ulani stood and walked back and forth slowly, deep in thought.

"I don't know," Jaden replied, "they'll be in Meridian for a while." She pulled one of her pillows out from under her and threw it at Alexis. The pillow flew through the air and hit the brunette in the face. Jaden's yellow orb flew out from inside the pillow case and dropped to the floor. Ulani bent over and gently picked it up, cradling it in her hands.

"Jaden," she mumbled, "you dropped this."

"I'm glad it didn't hit me," Alexis laughed, "that would have hurt!" She grabbed the pillow and swung it at Jaden. The two girls jumped at each other, swinging pillows through the air, fending off each other's attacks, and nailing each other in the face. Ulani slipped from the room and disappeared. Alexis and Jaden were too embroiled in their pillow fight to notice her absence.

Ulani stepped into her room and found where she had placed her own sphere for safe keeping. The flawless surface was cool beneath her delicate hands; she held it tight and moved to return to the room. At the threshold, she could hear the pillow fight. The two girl's happy shouts and laughter emanated from within. A spark was set off in Ulani's mind; _didn't Alexis say she had one too? _Ulani turned on her heel and hurried to the room where the guardian of fire was hiding out at. The room was definitely lived in. Luckily neither Cornelia nor Caleb ever came into this room to notice a pile of Alexis' clothing on the floor or the unmade bed where she slept every night. Ulani dug around through the loose articles of clothing and in the drawers and under the makeshift bed until she found what she was looking for. Alexis' red orb sparkled as she cradled it next to her own in her arms. The two spheres grew warm to the touch, comforting Ulani as she walked back into Jaden's room.

The two girls had collapsed from playful exhaustion. Alexis leaned against the bed, her head propped up against her elbows. Jaden lay arched over the side of the bed next to Alexis, hanging upside down, her hair falling into her green eyes. She noticed Ulani enter the room and quickly rolled over onto her stomach.

"Ulani," she laughed, "when did you leave?"

"Look," Ulani said. Alexis and Jaden turned their attention to the two orbs Ulani placed on the floor next to Jaden's.

"Where did you get my-" Alexis complained.

"Look!" Ulani ordered again. The three orbs on the ground, one yellow, one red, and one grey, all seemed to emit an unearthly glow.

"What's happening?" asked Jaden. The spheres glowed stronger, as if in response to her voice. Ulani cringed as a faint humming began. She pressed her hands to her ears, trying to block it out.

"Ulani, what's wrong?" asked Alexis.

"Can't you hear it?" asked Ulani. The two girls shook their heads in confusion. The orbs settled down and faded back to their normal brightness.

"I think you should call Brianna and Rachel," Jaden suggested, "tell them to come over. And to bring the little glass balls they found." Alexis stifled a laugh and proceeded to contact the two other guardians. _Brianna, Rachel, can you hear me?_ She questioned. She heard each of them reply and continued her message, _Jaden wants you two to come over, and to bring the little glass-like objects you found._

The two girls arrived after fifteen or twenty minutes and made their way up to Jaden's bedroom. Entering the room, they added their orbs, one blue the other one pink with golden zigzag in the center, to the pile.

"Wasn't that one clear the other night?" asked Ulani, referencing the sphere Brianna set down.

"It was until this morning," Brianna clarified, "but I left it and _this,"_ she pulled on the string at her neck, the Heart sparkled in the lamplight, "in the same drawer, maybe it absorbed the color while I showered." Alexis laughed.

"That might be," Ulani hesitated.

"What?" Alexis questioned, "you can't be serious!"

"What do you mean Ulani?" asked Rachel.

"What if the reason for those weird storms were these orbs?" Ulani suggested, "after the tornado ended, and I held mine, I fainted. At first," she paused, "I had thought nothing of it. My wing had been injured and I was tired, but now that I think about it again, I should not have lost consciousness." Ulani paused again, her body trembling, "I've been hurt before, just as bad, but this time it was if something was sapping my strength, stealing my energy."

"I felt the same way," Rachel said, "I felt like I had no power left."

"Me too," Jaden added. Alexis nodded her head in silent agreement.

"But why would they be able to do that?" Brianna questioned.

"I haven't thought of a reason yet," Ulani sighed. The five guardians' attention turned to the pile on the floor. The five spheres glowed contently, yet their radiance was blinding. Ulani pressed her hands to her ears once again and shut her grey eyes. The sound was back.

"Ulani!" Rachel gasped. The lights of the house flickered and went off, leaving the room in darkness. Brianna moved towards the window.

"_All_ the power's gone out," she informed the others, "the whole city's in a black out!" Ulani fell to her knees as the sounds pressed on her. The other girls seemed unaffected by the strange signal. Alexis let a tendril of her thoughts reach out to Ulani as she knelt on the rug next to her. Ulani cried out as she felt Alexis' mind forcing its way through the air to her own.

"Alexis," she struggled to say, "stop."

"Alexis, stop it," Jaden ordered, her voice cracking. Alexis halted trying to see what was affecting Ulani and put her arm on the young girl's shoulder. Ulani opened her eyes and glanced down at the five pulsing spheres. They seemed to be in tune with the strange sounds she heard in her mind.

"A signal," breathed Ulani. Alexis frowned and placed both her hands on Ulani's head.

"Alexis," Ulani whispered, tears coming to her gey eyes as the pain in her mind increased, "don't." Alexis closed her eyes the eerie sounds filled the other girl's heads. They all responded similar to how Ulani had, pressing their hands over their ears to attempt to block the screeching noises.

"Alexis!" shouted Brianna, "stop it!" Ulani reached out and touched the center orb in the pile. Her mind suddenly was cleared, her vision focused on something outside of the room. The world had gone grey except for a lone stream of colored light. It spread, like ripples on a pond, searching for something. Ulani blinked and she was back in Jaden's room. She snatched her hand away from the five orbs gathered together on the ground. The lights popped back on; the eerie noise had stopped.

"What was that about?" asked Brianna.

"You said something about a signal Ulani," Jaden said.

"I think there are more," Ulani explained thinking back to the dream. She keep the strange vision to herself, worried the other girls would think too much of it. She doubted they would have as empathic to her response to the noise if Alexis had not broken into her mind and revealed it to them all.

--

Eight green dots lit up on a black screen. Two were in the location of the machine displaying the information, and five others in a clump a short distance away. A grid with the city was overlaid onto it by a man working at the machine. He hummed to himself a curious note and scribbled down the single coordinate point that the six dots seemed to share. Expanding the map, the lights to the city flickered back on and the screen was flooded with green light. The eight points of power had disappeared from view. The man checked the position they had been at and typed the coordinates into his computer. His glasses flashed from the glow of the computer as he looked from screen to screen, searching. His fingers flew across the keyboard and deftly punched in an address within an email to one of the higher-ups. The email was nothing more than a simple message with the address and the sentence following it saying, 'you'll find the remaining ones at this location.' He pressed send, and the computer screen went blank as he relaxed.

--

A peaceful silence fell over the city as the night moved on. The girls sat up in Jaden's room, Brianna and Rachel seemed to be nervous to leave the others, or even to touch the orbs they had brought. A silence hung over them, but it was devoid of the awkwardness that most silences hold. The five girls were at peace, simply enjoying each other's company.

The phone rang, intruding on their moment of stillness. Jaden reached over and grabbed it. Her green eyes glanced to the clock, it read 11:36 PM. She put the phone to her ear and responded.

"Hello?"

"Jaden?" asked Jacob's voice.

"Jacob," Jaden said, "do you know what time it is?"

"You sound wide awake," he said, "but listen. There are two black vans outside your house. They look like the ones that they use on the police shows. They might belong to the CIA or the government or something."

"Jacob," laughed Jaden, "don't worry. Somebody is probably having family over, or a party. the vans are probably for-" The doorbell rang; Jaden's heart thudded against her chest. "I'm sorry Jacob, but I have to go."

* * *

Dun, dun, dun… What happens next? The conclusion in the next 2 chapters!… Remember to Review… i love reviews!


	17. A Government Enemy

**I do not own W.I.T.C.H.**

* * *

**Chapter 8)**_** A Government Enemy**_

"Who's at the door?" asked Rachel.

"I'll get it," Brianna offered.

"Wait," Jaden ordered, "let's see who it. Alexis, stay here out of sight, just in case." Alexis rolled her eyes, but silently agreed. The four girls made their way down the stairs, each of them still in their pajamas; Rachel and Brianna had thrown sweatshirts over their PJs to walk over. Jaden reached out and pulled the heavy front door open. Two men dressed in black uniforms stood in the doorway. The larger of the two men wore a pair of black sunglasses, even though the sun had set hours ago. Brianna looked through them, trying to see the man's eyes, hoping to judge who he was.

"Yes?" Jaden said. The two men stepped inside. Brianna stepped in front of Jaden.

"Hey, no one said you could come in!" she snapped, "what do you want?"

"Move aside girls," the man said. He shoved Brianna and Jaden over and walked passed Ulani and Rachel. Jaden collapsed into one of the armchairs in the living room while Brianna kept her balance and grabbed one of the men's black jackets.

"We have a permit," the man snapped. He flashed a legal looking, white piece of paper in her face and joined his partner in searching the living room.

"Ok," Brianna frowned, "what are you looking for? You have to tell us, right?"

"Whose house is this?" asked the man with the sunglasses. Jaden pushed herself from the chair she had fallen into.

"This is my house," Jaden explained, "but if you're looking for my parents, they're out of town."

"I just need to ask you some questions," the man said. Ulani and Rachel watched as the second man continued to probe around the room, not at all distracted by Brianna as she tailed him, watching him like a hawk. Jaden nodded and let the man begin his questioning.

"Do you know if your parents have any high current or high voltage electrical equipment operating in this house?" he asked.

"Is this about the power outage?" asked Rachel. The man turned to her and she hid behind Ulani. She had to duck to use the small girl's frame to hide herself. Jaden closed her green eyes and mentally called out to Alexis.

"_Alexis, hide the orbs!_" she commanded. The man snapped his fingers in front of Jaden's face. Her eyes focused and she gently shook her head to clear her mind.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked, "I have some more questions."

"Back off," Brianna snapped, a spark jumped across the hair in the back of her head, she turned to Jaden, "are you ok?" Jaden nodded and flicked her eyes up towards her bedroom and shook her head discreetly so as not to get either of the two men's attention. A beeping sound suddenly attracted the interest of everyone in the room to a small device in the man's hands who was searching through the shelves. He stopped short of the picture of Jaden and Kyra in Meridian at the palace and turned to the center of the room.

"We've got a reading," he announced, "it seems to be upstairs." Jaden's green eyes went wide and she darted up the stairs after the man who had questioned her. He moved up the stairs faster then she would have given him credit for. He paused in front of her door, giving Jaden a chance to throw herself in front of the closed entrance. The three other girls gathered around with the second agent.

"You can't go in here," Jaden stuttered, "it's– messy."

"Whatever you have in there, we've seen it before," the man with sunglasses said, "step aside." He pushed Jaden from the doorway and wrapped his hand around the doorknob. A gentle thud of wood on metal rang as he attempted to push the door open. A small space opened between the door frame and the edge of the door as it was pushed inward. After only two inches, the door stopped and refused to budge.

"It's stuck," the man grumbled, leaning into the door.

"Wait," Jaden said, recognizing the object blocking the door, "that's my lacrosse stick, don't break it!" The man stopped trying to force the door open, frowned at his partner, and let Jaden try to free it.

"_Jaden, I'm on the roof_," came Alexis' voice, "_I've got them_." Jaden nodded and tried to wedge her fingers through the door to free her lacrosse stick. Her hand, as slim as it was, came just inches from her target, but to her surprise, it lifted on its own and moved back to the exact place she would have put it back at. Jaden stood, wide eyed in shock; her lacrosse stick was now out of harm's way. She stepped back and the two men barged into her room.

Pillows lay on the rug and the bed spread was pulled from the bed from Jaden's and Alexis' pillow fight. The two men circled the room with their little beeping device; the machine's silence forced frowns onto the men's faces. They peered under Jaden's bed, dressers, and in her closet. They stood in confusion staring at the piece of equipment, expecting it to jump to life and alert them to the presence of the thing they were looking for. The four girls hovered in the doorway, watching. Brianna sighed loudly, a spark of electricity jumping visibly across her bangs.

"Are you done yet?" she declared. Her face was set with a fierce frown, her blue eyes narrowed as they glared daggers at the two officers in the room. The machine yelped out and caught the attention of the men. The man holding it turned towards the girls and took a step forward. The machine began to bleep steadily.

"I think it's found something," the man smiled.

"Great," muttered Brianna under her breath. He took a step towards the doorway where the girls were still congregated; the machine beeped faster. Ulani felt her heart leap as she watched Brianna's anger take a tangible form as energy, jumping across her hair. The man stopped in front of the girls, the machine beeping like mad in his hands.

"I think it's broken," Rachel said. The man pointed it at the girls and listened to the beeping increase as he aimed the sensor at Brianna.

"You," he said, referring to Brianna. He hesitated. He had been about to ask her to empty her pockets, but he realized her pajamas had no pockets to empty. "You'll have to come with us. This is a high profile case and for some reason-"

"No," Brianna snapped. Jaden and Brianna glanced at each other for a second and exchanged a knowing glance. The lights in the house suddenly went out. The four girls dashed down the hallway and to the balcony at the end of the hall. The two men shouted for them to stop and tried to catch them. Jaden threw open the glass balcony door and they girls hurried out. They scrambled up onto the roof and gathered around Alexis. She was relaxing without a care in the world, the five orbs safely stashed in one of Jaden's pillowcases, resting atop the chimney.

"Finally," Alexis said. She turned to Brianna, "what made you so mad?" Brianna pushed her hair behind her ears and felt the bit of the sparks that jumped free of her bangs.

"Brianna, calm down," Jaden said, "you'll give us away." Brianna closed her blue eyes and nodded, trying to relax.

"What do we do now?" asked Rachel.

"We wait," Alexis explained, "they'll go away eventually. Come on? Lay back, relax." They girls joined Alexis and leaned back against the shingles of the roof. Brianna took deep, calming breaths to try and contain her emotions. After a short while, the tendrils of the energy that snaked around her died down. Brianna leaned against the roof and watched the four other guardians.

Ulani had curled up, despite being on the sharply inclined roof, her eyes closed and her breathing steady, seeming to be asleep. Rachel tried to be relaxed between Ulani and Alexis. Her body was tense, but she tried to hide it on her face. Her hands gripped the roof under her body; without her wings to catch her, Rachel seemed to have a fear of heights. Alexis and Jaden stared up at the stars above them. In the back of her mind, Brianna could hear their conversation, but she tuned them out. She had decided that everyone stay quiet so the two men did not find them, but that had not kept the two of them from conversing.

Brianna glanced to the pillowcase wedged between the roof and the chimney stack. Alexis had tied it shut to keep the orbs from falling out and breaking, but she had simply left it in the precarious location.

The front door shut below them. Jaden opened her eyes and flipped over onto her stomach. She climbed up to the top of the roof and peered over it into the front yard. Brianna and Alexis watched her from their position on the roof. The black van's doors slammed shut as the two men stepped inside and drove slowly away, the second van tailing it. Jaden slid back down the others.

"They're gone," she said, "let's get inside." Rachel nudged Ulani and followed Jaden as she climbed down onto the balcony. The house was still dark.

"Brianna," Jaden said, gesturing to the lights.

"Right," Brianna smiled. She snapped her fingers and the lights came back on. Jaden returned her smile and the girls walked back into Jaden's room; Alexis carried the pillowcase with the orbs. She untied the knot and set them on the floor, rolling them out onto the rug.

"We need to keep them away from each other," Ulani said, she reached out and picked up the orb she found, cradling it in her hands.

"We don't want the FBI, or whoever they were, looking for us again," Alexis said.

"Next time, they might catch us," Rachel muttered.

"I really don't want to walk home alone in the dark," Brianna admitted, "I doubt those two went back to the base, they're probably hanging around, waiting for us to come back. I don't want to find them when I walk home."

"But you have the necklace," Ulani said, "you can transform and-"

"I'll walk with you Brianna," Jaden offered, "Rachel? Do you want an escort too?" Rachel nodded.

"I'll take you," Alexis shrugged, "I'll get some more fresh air. I don't know when the next time you're parents will be gone…" Ulani handed them each the sphere they had found and watched the four of them walk into the darkness outside.

The night was spotted with stars, but the moon was absent. The only light came from the streetlights at every street corner. After walking together in a group they split up and each walked in the opposite direction at the next intersection, Brianna and Jaden turned right while Rachel and Alexis walked left.

Brianna quickened her pace once Alexis was out of sight. Jaden walked in step with her, not mentioning the fact that she had sped up out loud. Brianna looked over her shoulder for what seemed like the tenth time since they had begun walking. Jaden was going to reassure her that they were alone in the dark until she heard tires on the pavement behind them. She looked back and froze like a deer in a set of headlights. One of the black vans that had parked in front of her house before was right behind them, slowly tracking them.

"Brianna," Jaden whispered

"I know," Brianna replied, "what should we do?"

"Transform and fly away," Jaden suggested, "just like Ulani said." Brianna fingered the chain at her neck. She pulled the Heart free from her pajama shirt in one hand and the orb in the other.

"We can't just change in front of them though!" Brianna suddenly said. Jaden nodded and glanced around. She spotted a row of hedges, looped her arm with Brianna's, and dove sideways. The two girls disappeared into the vegetation. The flash of blinding light was shielded mostly by the foliage and had dissipated by the time the two men in the van had floored the vehicle to get over to the spot where the two of them had disappeared to.

Taking to the sky, Brianna and Jaden watched the two men dig through the bushes in search of them. They burst into laughter and flew away, their tiny wings flapping furiously to keep them aloft. Instead of making the rest of the trip to Brianna's house, the girl's doubled back and flew in the direction they had walked, hoping to confuse their trackers. They scanned below them as they flew, searching for Rachel and Alexis, wondering if they had made it back in one piece, but the trees provided unneeded cover and obscured their view.

--

Rachel led Alexis right, around another corner, and down a new street. Alexis was starting to suspect the guardian of water had taken the long way, but she did not say anything to bring it up. A car screeched to a halt somewhere, the noise carrying through the air to them. Rachel paused, her body stiff as she listened, trying to pinpoint where the noise had come from. Alexis walked past her, continuing at the pace she had set and not looking back. After a few strides she noticed she did not hear Rachel's footsteps following her. Alexis sighed and turned around. Rachel bolted into her, sending the two girls barreling into the ground.

"What was that for!" Alexis shouted. Rachel rolled over and pointed down the street. A black van raced down the pavement, coming straight at them. Stumbling to get to their feet, the van stopped inches from where they were and two men jumped out. Rachel jumped to her feet after Alexis pushed her aside and ran as fast as her legs would carry her. Alexis watched her disappear out of the corner of her eye and planted her feet. Unlike her, Alexis stood her ground, at least for now. There was not much she could do without being transformed. She reached out her hands, her palms facing the two men as they closed in on her.

"Don't come any closer!" Alexis ordered. The two men hesitated but seeing she had no weapons in her open hands they advanced on her. Alexis narrowed her eyes, flames flashing across them. She swung her hands out to her sides, leaving a trial of fire in their wake. The flames flew towards the men, giving Alexis the chance to run. She sprinted off in the direction Rachel had headed in. Turning to look behind her, Alexis saw the two men just starting to run after her. She smiled, wishing she had her wings, and ran behind a fence to hide. The nearest streetlamp was down the block, leaving her with only the stars for light. After a second of panting, Alexis held her breath when she heard the men runing towards her. She pressed her body up against the boards and waited. She felt a shadow pass by and breathed out a sigh of relief.

A branch snapped to her right. She stood up and her shirt caught on the rough edge of the fence boards, she felt the wood scrape her shoulder. Reaching up to see the extent of the injury, movement caught her eye. Before she could react, Alexis felt a pair of hands close around her waist, catching her arms in their hold. She kicked and twisted. In the dark all she saw was a dark shadow, but she guessed that it was one of the men in the black van. Before she could blast him off with fire, he delivered a sharp blow to her head with pinpoint accuracy, effectively knocking her out. She collapsed into his arms and her eyes slowly lost focus.

--

Ulani sat up as the front door opened. She saw Jaden and Brianna stumble inside. They were both transformed and windblown. Ulani got her feet and pulled on a piece of her hair as she watched them step into the living room. Brianna collapsed into one of the chairs and help up the Heart. In a flash of light the two girls were back in their pajamas and wingless.

"What happened?" asked Ulani, kneeling next to the chair where Jaden had taken a seat in.

"They found us," Jaden breathed, "we tried to find Rachel and Alexis, but they were gone." The door was pushed open slowly; the three girls turned to see Rachel as she slipped inside.

"Where's Alexis?" Jaden questioned.

"They-, she-," Rachel panted as she bent over to catch her breath, "I ran-, I don't know." Jaden felt her heart thud in her chest as she thought of what could have happened to her. She closed her emerald eyes.

"_ALEXIS!_" Jaden screamed as she tried to find Alexis' mind, she turned to the girls after a minute, "she's not answering. I think those police might have caught her." Brianna looked down to her hand, the Heart was pulsing slowly, it's pink surface rippling and parting like a pond.

"Jaden, look!" Brianna pointed. She held the Heart out for Jaden to see. The crystal rose into the air of its own accord and hovered before the four girl's eyes. Brianna put down her shaking hand and tried to keep her composure. She thought back to the dance when the Heart had first done this. She willed herself to accept the fact that the magical crystal had a mind of its own. The rosy surface faded in the center and receded to the edges, revealing Alexis' face in the center.

"What's it doing?" asked Ulani.

"My mom told me that once the Heart of Candracar did this for Will, Brianna's mom," Jaden recalled, "the Heart showed them where to find my dad when he was captured."

"So it will show us where Alexis is?" Rachel asked.

"I hope," Jaden sighed. The four girls watched the images in the floating pendent take shape and focus on Alexis, almost like it changed the single image into a movie.

--

Alexis slowly came to, her head aching like she had just been hit with a hammer and shouted at by the drill sergeant back at military camp. She kept her eyes closed and tensed her fingers, trying to feel where she was. The vehicle hit a pothole and Alexis banged her head against the wall. She heard talking between the two men when the van came to an abrupt halt. She slammed into the front wall of the van separating the driver from her and felt her vision go blurry once more. She tried to fight to it; she called out to the girls for help; but they could only watch her from the glass surface of the Heart.

They saw the van drive through a gate in a barbed wire fence and the two men carry Alexis inside a building. As they hurried down a flight of fire escape type stairs Alexis opened her eyes but shut them when the pounding in her head became unbearable. She felt the lights blazing against her back as they carried her down a long hallway, into a room, and finally let her rest in a chair. Alexis heard the door shut and the lock click.

"Ok," said a voice, "you can stop pretending now, open your eyes." Alexis opened her eyes and looked at a man sitting behind a desk in front of where she sat. He watched her, resting his head on his chin, looking very bored. He straightened up and asked, "Was your trip pleasant?"

"Come on," Alexis mocked him, "do you think being knocked out, banged around in a trunk, and now interrogated-, is _pleasant_?" The man raised his eyebrow at her in mock humor.

"I won't play games with you Alexis," the man said.

"Hey, how do you know-?"

"All I want-, is answers," he continued, a smile on his face, "if you tell me, then I'll let you go back to your friend's house."

"How did you find-?"

"Tell me about your friends, Alexis," the man interrupted her, "especially, Brianna." He shuffled through a messy stack of papers on his desk. In his left hand rested a pen, poised to jot down notes. "Why is her energy signature off the charts?"

"How should I know?" asked Alexis. She crossed her arms in front of her chest defensively and avoided the man's eyes. He leaned forward over the desk and clenched his hands into tight fists.

"Then how about how you managed to get out of the most highly guarded military school in the state?" Alexis' eyes glanced sideways at him.

"How did you know about that?" Alexis demanded, "and why aren't I all over the news? No one is looking for me; no one even knows I got out!"

"That is none of your-"

"Yes it is! Tell me why you haven't informed anyone that I'm missing!" Alexis shouted as she got to her feet. She felt her body tense and her fists mimic his as she grew angrier. The man sat and watched her, slowly letting his stress ebb away, narrowing his eyes as she began to pace back and forth in front of him.

"We caught you on camera," the man said. Alexis spun around and faced him, flames danced across her eyes.

"What did you see?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly. Raising as eyebrow in shock that Alexis had lost her pokerface, the interrogator smiled to himself and shook his head.

"Your back was to the camera," he stated, Alexis sighed, "but you left the fence piece you _burned_ to get through. Would you like to tell me what piece of equipment you took was small enough to hide behind your back while worked and that no one would know was missing afterward? Or maybe it wasn't-"

"I didn't take anything," Alexis said, "I just got out. End of discussion."

"Ok," the man sighed, rubbing his temples, "I can see these questions are going nowhere, I can't prove anything you see either way."

"So, let me out of here then," Alexis said, she opened her mind and searched for any of the other girl's thoughts. Silence. All she heard was the man humming to himself. She placed her fingers to her temples, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. In the silence she heard talking. She relaxed and listened, peeking out her left eye at the man. His finger was pressed in his ear. Under his hair, she noted he was wearing a black earphone-like-device. He was looking down at the table, writing down what he heard. Closing her eyes again to hear more clearly, Alexis caught snatches of the conversation.

"-brain activity has gone down again… -body temperature is still higher-" The man looked up and saw Alexis watching him. He opened a drawer in his desk and put his hand inside.

"I have one more question for you," he said. Alexis sighed. "What do you know about this?" He pulled out a smoky colored orb similar to the ones each of the guardians had in their procession. Without thinking, Alexis' hands flew to her pockets, patting down every place she would have put her own sphere.

"Might you be looking for this?" asked the man, holding up her red orb.

"That's mine," Alexis snapped, "give it back!"

"This isn't yours Alexis," the man said, "and neither are the ones your friends have." Alexis was shocked into silence. Her mind worked furiously trying to figure out how this man knew so much about her and her friends. She had to be in some sort of government base or something close to it.

"Now tell me, where did you get this?" the man asked calmly.

"I found it," Alexis answered, "in the forest at the military school." He dropped his hand onto the desk and clenched his fingers. He muttered something to himself but Alexis did not catch the words. He seemed to believe her. Alexis looked around and tried once more to try and contact the girls; again, she could not get through to them.

--

"We have to save Alexis!" Rachel said after the Heart shifted back to pink.

"Where is she though?" Ulani asked.

"The black vans took her, so it has to be a police or government agency," Jaden reasoned, "the white room and hallway looked like a lab though."

"A government lab?" offered Brianna, "if so, we'll never get her out. Besides none of us even knows if there's a place like that around here." The door opened without a knock or warning.

"There's a top secret government laboratory to the west of the city," said the intruder.

"Shoot-, how much did you hear? What did you see?" Brianna shouted. She jumped at the person and pulled him into the living room before the other girls. He was shoved into the light.

"Jacob?"

"Hello, again," waved Rachel, smiling pleasantly.

"You must really like Jaden," Brianna shook her head and laughing to herself. He blushed bright red.

"No," Jacob stuttered, "but don't worry, all I heard was government lab. My mom works at the only one in the state; it's to the west of the city. I have the keys to get into her office." He held up his hands, pleading innocence.

"So what do we do?" asked Ulani.

"We let him help," Jaden stated.

"What!" Brianna exclaimed, "Jaden, you can't be serious!"

"I am," Jaden said, she turned to Jacob, "how would we get there?"

"I'd drive," he smiled.

"Can't you drive _any_ faster?" complained Brianna, "we need to get Alexis back." Jaden turned and looked back at her from the front seat. Jacob had taken them onto the interstate, yet they were still not going fast enough for Brianna. Ulani and Rachel each had a window seat in the back of the car while Brianna was squished in-between them. Jaden rode up front, trying to keep the peace.

"Why did the government want her anyway?" asked Jacob.

"Keep your eyes on the road and don't ask questions," Brianna commanded. Jacob shut his mouth and did as he was told. He exited after a few more miles and drove down a long, desolate road. At the end, a barbed wire fence greeted them. Jacob stopped the car and got out to open the lock. He pushed open the fence and drove the car through. The parking lot was packed despite it being a little past midnight. Jacob parked in his mother's spot; the sign read _Parking for_ _Mrs. Lee Head of Department_. They piled out of the car and into the building with Jacob leading the way to open all the locked doors.

"Um, I have a confession," Jacob said suddenly. He stood outside a locked door in a bright white hallway. "I've never been anywhere except here, my mom's office. So I don't know where to go to find your friend."

"Thanks for getting us this far then, we can take it from here," Ulani smiled.

"No way," Jacob said, "I'm staying with you." Brianna held back a laugh.

"We can take care of ourselves," she explained.

"Well, we can't leave him here," Jaden sighed.

"Fine, he can come," Brianna yielded. The girls hurried away to look for a set of stairs. They found a flight and raced down them. Brianna led the way, Rachel and Ulani behind her, while Jaden and Jacob held up the back. They stopped at the next intersection of hallways. Ulani peeked around the corner.

"There is a woman behind a desk, and a locked door with a sign that says the door only opens without assistance from the inside," she read.

A man appeared from another hallway on the other side of the desk and nodded at the doors. The woman pressed a button on her table and the doors automatically swung open. Ulani smiled, turned to Jaden, and waved her hand away.

"Come on Jacob, let's go this way," Jaden whispered as she pulled him off and they hurried away.

"Watch this," Ulani smiled. Rachel and Brianna's mouths dropped to the floor as they watched Ulani disappear into thin air. They heard her giggle and waited as she slipped through the doorway before the door clicked closed. The woman at the desk had not even batted an eyelash in her direction.

"But, how do we get in?" asked Rachel.

"Watch," Brianna smiled. She pulled out the Heart, transforming Rachel, Ulani, and herself.

"Why did you do that?" asked Rachel, "she could have seen us!"

"This place probably has a backup generator, maybe more; I don't have enough power to play with the light over there without transforming," Brianna sighed. Rachel was about to question her how she knew, but held back. 

She watched as Brianna reached out her hand and focused on the light above the woman at the desk. It blinked once or twice before going out. The woman looked up and frowned; she got to her feet and walked into a small storage closet to find a replacement bulb. Taking their chance, Brianna and Rachel hurried across the desk area to where Ulani opened the door for them. The hallway was smaller than the last one and Ulani's wings brushed against the walls as she stood, letting them in.

"The hallway is full of doors, but they seem to be locked," Ulani informed them. Brianna pushed past her and jogged down the hallway. Rachel and Ulani looked at each other for a moment before following her. As they went they tried all the doors, hoping to find one unlocked. They had made their way down almost the whole hallway, only three doors remained. Footsteps echoed down the corridor after the third door, sending the girls into a panic. Rachel tugged on the first door she saw; it came open easily.

"In here!" she called. Brianna and Ulani raced in. The three girls pressed their ears to the door, but the footsteps seemed to have vanished into thin air. Leaning against the door with her eyes closed, Ulani slid to the floor, sighing with relief. She opened her eyes after a moment and looked up at Brianna and Rachel as they continued to try and locate the sound of the footsteps. She looked away and her mouth fell open. There was a girl who seemed to be asleep on a stiff, reclining chair in the center of the room.

"Alexis!" she gasped.

* * *

Dun, dun, dun… What happens next? The conclusion in the next chapter, promise… :) Remember to Review…


	18. An Unforseen Element

**I do not own W.I.T.C.H. only BRUJA**

**forgive any (and all) of my grammer issues in this and the past few chapters, they have been grammatically worse off then my previous chapters due to my absentmindedness (sp) and so on... on the other hand if you haven't noticed anything, please continue not to notice... thanks ;)**

* * *

**Chapter 9)**_** An Unforseen Element**_

"Alexis!" Brianna stuttered as she jumped over to her, "are you alright?"

"She looks unconscious," Rachel said.

"Hurry, let's get her out of here and find Jaden and get out!" Brianna ordered. Pounding caught Ulani's attention as Brianna and Rachel lifted Alexis out of the chair. Ulani turned toward the noise, her black hair whipping around off her shoulders, the ebony feather taking flight; she saw two men pounding on a tinted glass window. One pressed something on the panel below the window. His voice sounded loud from a speaker somewhere in the room.

"Get out of there," he ordered, "put that girl down!"

"Brianna," Ulani mumbled. The two men pounded on the glass again until one of them turned to leave the room. "We have to go!" Rachel and Brianna each looped one of Alexis' arms over their shoulders and hurried from the room. Ulani held the door open while the girls hurried through. Running down the hallway, they heard the door slam to the room where the two men had seen them. Ulani glanced back and saw them running after them. The doorway loomed ahead; they would soon be at the desk. Brianna knew it would be impossible to get by without being seen by someone. The alarms suddenly blasted above them; Rachel sighed as she ran, there was no way they could get up the stairs carrying Alexis with them. The girls pushed through the doors; the woman was absent from her post. They ran through an intersection of hallways and crashed into someone running the other way.

Brianna pushed blond hair from her face and pulled on Alexis' arm to get her back up. It took her a second to realize that two more bodies were piled on top of her.

"Jaden?" she asked. She did not have much time to explain before the doors flew open and the two men rushed in.

"Jaden, take Alexis!" Brianna ordered. Jacob helped Jaden ease Alexis into her back as if she was giving her a piggyback ride. She followed Brianna down the hallway. Rachel and Brianna, freed from Alexis' weight, took to the air on their wings. Ulani followed close behind them on foot, staying just in front of Jaden. Jacob followed behind them all, deeply confused, but he kept his mouth shut; now was _not_ the time for questions. Armed guards rushed around from the next hallway, blocking the girls from going any further.

"Stop where you are with your hands in plain sight. Put the girl down!" one of the guards recited.

"Brianna," Rachel whispered.

"Jaden," Brianna mumbled through her teeth, "you can carry Alexis, right?" Jaden nodded. Brianna smiled and snapped her fingers. The lights in the hallway went dark.

"Ulani!" Brianna ordered. The guardian of air sent a strong gust down the corridor, knocking the guards flat against the wall, clearing a path.

"Run!" Ulani called through the darkness. The girls sprinted down the larger hallway, Brianna, Rachel, and Ulani taking to the air on their wings. Jaden and Jacob ran after them, quickly falling behind. The lights flickered back to life as Jaden rounded the next corner. Glancing around as she ran, Jaden noticed Brianna, Rachel, and Ulani were gone. Behind her Jacob was out of breath. Shouts followed them down the hallway as they turned another corner.

"Jaden, in here!" Jacob called. He held open a door and they ducked inside.

"Thanks," Jaden sighed. She looked around the darkened room and sat Alexis on the spinning chair behind the desk. The walls were loaded with bookshelves above the filling cabinets. A laptop computer sat closed on the desk next to a stack of papers and a forest of picture frames showing off pictures of a happy family.

"Whose room is this?" asked Jaden as she flipped through the manila folders on the desk. She glanced up at one of the photographs. A brother and sister pair smiled back at her from a tire swing at a playground.

"This is my mom's office," Jaden explained, "I guess she left it unlocked." He shook his head, "but forget that Jaden, what going on here?" Jaden turned her back to him, glanced away from the smiling faces, and leaned over Alexis.

"I knew that you guys wanted to save your friend, but you never told me why," Jacob complained, "and how did those three suddenly appear in those outfits and look older? Jaden, please tell me what's happening." Jaden pretended to focus on Alexis' condition but Jacob grabbed her shoulders and spun her around to face him.

"Jaden!" he said forcefully, his face inches from hers, "something is happening with all of you. It's the reason that she was kidnapped, right? Jaden, I've helped you get this far, you can't leave me in the dark anymore!" Jaden averted her eyes from his and towards the pile of papers as Jacob kept a firm grip on her shoulders.

"Jaden!" he shouted. She focused on the writing, trying to think about the words on the pages instead of the fact that Jacob had a point. She saw something that truely caught her attention on the table.

"Jacob, look," Jaden said. He loosened his grip on her shoulders and she moved towards the desk, "this," she pulled the manila folder open and touched the pictures that fell out, "these are the same ones that we have…"

"What are they?" asked Jacob, "why does my mom have this?" Jaden pulled out a typed piece of paper and skimmed down the lines. It was a progress report, explaining a capsule with eight probes had been lunched on the most recent November 3. Jaden stopped reading and looked up at Jacob.

"November third," she mumbled, "wasn't that the day of the meteor shower?"

"It might have been, so what?" Jacob shrugged. He picked up each of the separate pictures of the orbs and flipped through them; there were eight photos in total. Information about each sphere was written on the back of the film. While they all appeared to be duplicates of each other, they were made of different materials, if the data was to be believed, with a new, experimental glasslike substance for a covering.

Jaden pulled out another piece of paper from the folder; it appeared to be a log sheet. On it contained the dates that each orb was deactivated. Looking at the data, Jaden noticed the days on the list were similar to the days that strange creatures they fought appeared. She read down the paper and smiled.

"Jacob, look!" Jaden exclaimed, "the 'orbs', as your mother calls them, were made to-" The door burst open allowing a group of armed guards entrance into the room. The men grabbed both Jaden and Jacob, leaving Alexis for the others. The man in charged ripped the papers out of Jaden's hand and eyed them over. He raised his eyebrow in surprise at her when he read the name of the file. Jaden stood calmly while the guards maneuvered her hands behind her back and pushed her from the room. She watched Jacob try to put up a fight and get them off of him.

"This is my mother's office!" he exclaimed, "let go of me. My dad is the mayor!" The guards paid him no attention and marched him outside into the hallway after Jaden. Alexis was carried out over a man's shoulder behind the rest of the group.

They were marched up the stairs into a plusher environment. The building had been transformed from a classified government lab, to a rich businessman office building. They were walked down a hallway and past a startled secretary who shouted after them that Mr. Brigson was in a meeting.

The guard holding the papers about the 'orbs', pushed open the door without a knock and announced their entrance. A man was seated bhind a desk, staring into space. Jaden could just imgaine Alexis' comment, '_some meeting',_ she would joke, '_sign me up!_'.

"Mr. Brigson, we've found them, they were in Mrs. Lee's office," he explained, "the girl was in procession of this." The man behind the large oak desk took the folder from the guard.

"As I suspected," he said to no one in particular, he turned to Jaden, "now, why did the guards find this in your procession Jaden?"

"Who are you?" Jaden demanded, "and how do you know who I am?"

"You girls all ask the same questions," Mr. Brigson laughed, "and since I didn't tell Alexis, it wouldn't be fair to tell you, now would it?"

"What did you do to Alexis?" Jaden questioned. She struggled to get free of the two guards who restrained her.

"She'll be fine," the man said, "she's just sleeping." Alexis mumbled something incoherent from her position, draped over the guard's shoulder like a piece of cloth.

The desk began humming softly, one of the drawers wiggled fiercely, begging to be opened. The man removed the items in the drawer; enjoying Jaden's surprised face as he did.

"So you didn't know there more then?" he asked. Jaden's green eyes were riveted to the three spheres on the desk. Alexis' red orb sat sandwiched between a smoky grey one and an ice blue one.

"We already knew there were eight," Jacob said, his face set with determination.

"Jacob," hissed Jaden, "don't." She hoped he was just bluffing with the information they had learned in his mother's office.

"No, please," smiled Mr. Brigson, "continue Jacob. Five of the 'orbs', as your mother called them, are still out there."

"Five?" mumbled Jaden in confusion. With Alexis' orb here, she figured there should only be four left.

"Yes there are five left," Mr. Brigson growled, "and I know you know where they are!" Jaden backed into the two men holding her wrists and bit her lip. She looked to Alexis and cried out a mental plea for her to wake up and help. Focusing, Jaden fought to break through the barrier of the unnatural sleep that Alexis was currently submerged in. Jaden felt both Jacob and Mr. Brigson's eyes staring at her as she pressed her green eyes closed and fought her way into Alexis' mind. Then she felt it, a flicker of warmth in a sea of emptiness.

"_Alexis!"_ Jaden intruded, "_wake up! We have to get out of here!"_

"_What? Jaden?"_ came Alexis' voice, "_where-"_

"_Alexis, you have to wake up now! We have to escape before they figure anything out," _Jaden explained. Jaden opened her eyes; a new determination alit within them. Alexis cautiously opened her own brown ones, and she glanced around the room. Smiling to herself, she elbowed the man who had a hold of her in the jaw and slid down his back. The commotion of him hitting the floor attracted the attention of everyone in the room.

"Let Jaden and her boyfriend go," smiled Alexis, clearly enjoying herself.

"Alexis," Jaden scowled as she rolled her eyes, she mumbled through her teeth, "now is not the time." Mr. Brigson stepped out from behind his desk.

"Alexis," he smiled, "how nice of you to join us."

"Back off," Alexis growled, "now let them go." When no one made any motion to comply, Alexis threw her hand out in front of her and swung it out, sending a fan of flames at the guards. They dropped Jacob and Jaden's arms and hurried out of range of Alexis' fire. She gave Mr. Brigson a mocking smile as she grabbed the three orbs on the desk and ran after Jaden who had already pulled Jacob out of the room. She sprinted to keep up and heard the guards in the room reorganizing to get them.

"Alexis," Jaden commanded, "find where Brianna and the others are!" Jaden turned a corner and pulled on the closed door; it was locked. Pounding footsteps rang out down the carpeted hallway.

"Stand aside Jacob," Jaden said. Jacob backed away from the door he had been trying to pry open and watched as Jaden raised her hands. The door blasted backwards, free of its hinges, and bounced against the wall down the hallway. Jacob stood open mouthed at what he had just seen. Alexis had sprouted fire from her hands and now Jaden had blasted the door open without touching it with anything. The blond grabbed the stunned boy's hand and pulled him through the threshold into the hallway.

"Nice trick," Alexis complimented. The group leaped over the door and followed Alexis as she led them to where Brianna had told them to go.

After following her up another flight of stairs and down three more winding corridors, Alexis stopped them in front of a janitor's closet. She laughed as she opened the door at Brianna's predicament. The redhead was tangled up in a forest of mops, trying not to move in case someone could hear her knock over the cleaning items in the closet. As the light poured in, the girls helped to free her, and Brianna stepped into the hallway with Ulani and Rachel.

"What's the plan?" asked Rachel, sneezing from being in close quarters with half-a-dozen dusty brooms.

"We bust ourselves out of here and fly away," Alexis explained. She turned to Brianna. The guardian of quintessence got the message and pulled out the Heart. The jewel transformed both Alexis and Jaden and then glowed contently. Flapping her wings happily, Alexis rose to the ceiling and gave it a knock. Jaden crossed her arms over her chest and turned her back to Jacob, trying to ignore him. She could feel his eyes staring into her back in wonderment at what was going on. She regretted not explaining the situation to him.

"Jaden, a little help would be appreciated," Alexis smiled. Jaden nodded and lifted her hands. The ceiling above her crumbled and left a gaping hole. The support beams were all that remained after the last bit of concrete slid from the opening and onto the floor. Alexis darted through the opening, enjoying her freedom and looked around as the sentry.

"Come on," Alexis called, "before they find us!" Brianna nodded and signaled for the rest of them to go through.

"Ulani, can you carry Jacob?" asked Jaden as she took off. Ulani nodded and swooped around behind Jacob, lifting him up and into the air. The five girls flew off towards Jaden's house; Ulani carried Jacob and Alexis in procession of the three orbs. They arrived with little delay and hurried into the house. Jacob, out of curiosity, and the fact that no one had told him to go home, followed the girls inside.

Rachel and Ulani retrieved the four orbs that had been left on Jaden's bed and placed them in the pile with the three that Alexis had rescued from the lab.

"That is a disgusting color, it looks like something caught on fire in it," Brianna remarked, showing her disgust for the smoky grey colored sphere. The pile vibrated, the surfaces clinking as they moved. Expecting another loud noise, Rachel and Brianna placed their hands over their ears. The noise never came. Instead, a smooth humming sound emitted from the pile. The music swirled around the room, only Ulani seemed to notice something odd about it.

"There's one missing," she informed them over the soft humming.

"Yeah," Jaden added, "there are supposed to be eight of these things."

"Eight?" asked Rachel.

"How can you tell?" questioned Brianna.

"The highest pitch is missing. There should be eight pitches, like notes in an octave. The last one isn't _here,_" she explained, "but I think I can hear it."

"Where?" asked Alexis, "we have to go get it."

"Take us there Ulani," Brianna said. Ulani nodded and the girls filed out of the house. Alexis gathered the seven orbs up and stuffed them into a drawstring bag from Jaden's coat closet; she carried them outside with her. Ulani, Rachel, Brianna, and Alexis all took to the sky and flew off, leaving Jaden on the ground.

"Jacob," she said, "you can go home now, we can handle this on our own."

"Jaden-" he started to say.

"No," Jaden interrupted, "you've helped enough. It's too dangerous now." With her final word in, Jaden leaped from her porch and took off, her tiny wings beating hard to keep her in the air as she thought about how clichéd her last remark had been. Jacob watched her vanish into the dark sky.

--

"So _what_ did you find out?" asked Brianna as the girls flew behind Ulani.

"These things are called 'orbs' by the government," Jaden began, "they were supposed to be sent into space to try and discover alternative energy sources and resources. Except they were launched on the day of the meteor shower, so I think they fell back to Earth instead. They can absorb energy from almost any source, and once they touch one energy producing thing, they can't take anything from any other source, just the original. I think that might have been why they are all different colors; they took on the color of the substance they absorbed energy from."

"Wow," Rachel sighed.

"So you're telling me, the government did this?" Brianna asked. Jaden nodded her head. Brianna shrugged and continued flying.

"Here!" Ulani called as she descended towards the beach on her white wings. The four girls followed her down. The tide was out, but the sand was wet and it stuck to the girls' footwear as they made their way into the cave. Rachel hung back for a moment but followed after Alexis as she let a flame come to life in her palm. The seven glass spheres hummed softly in the bag against Alexis' wings as she moved; she let the fire keep her from crashing into anything on the ground. The cave smelled of high tide; exposed sea creatures adorned the walls and rocky floor.

Ulani led them in deeper, the humming increasing in volume until all the girls could clearly hear it. The guardian of air suddenly dropped to her knees and pressed her hands to her ears, hoping to drown out the noise.

"Ulani!" called Jaden, wrapping her arm around the girl's shoulder to try and comfort her, "are you ok?" Ulan nodded slowly, her grey eyes shut tight.

"Look!" Brianna pointed. Rachel, Alexis, and Jaden followed her finger with their eyes and saw a man in the shadows. In his hand was a small marble sized sphere. The humming turned into a piercing ringing sound, forcing the girls to react in the same way that Ulani had. The man stepped from the shadows and smiled as he watched them.

"I must thank you girls," Mr. Brigson said, "if you hadn't stolen those three orbs then the last one would have never sent out it's homing signal which allowed me to finally track it. Now, I need the ones that you have with you." The waves turned; the tide slowly began to fill back in. The water had yet to enter the cave, but it wouldn't take long for the waves to ebb inside. Mr. Brigson continued to hold the small orb out in his hand until the noise grew too loud for even him to stand in its range. He dropped the orb and slammed his palms against his ears, taking several steps backward to escape the sound. Alexis had placed the bag against the wall to try and stop the orbs from vibrating. She watched the bag tip from the excitement within the spheres and the seven spherical objects rolls free. The small black orb rolled into the shadows, followed by the seven others. Alexis dove after them, but missed and scrapped her stomach and forearms on the rocks.

An unearthly moan echoed from the shadows where the orbs had rolled. The girls uncovered their ears as the ringing subsided; the salty bay water pooled around their ankles. The shadows seemed to come alive, reaching out for them with claw like hands. The girls backed out of the cave as the hands reached to close around them. The moonlight seemed to have no effect on the shadows as the being that controlled the claws appeared, slithering out of the cave and rearing up to tower above them. The creature stood only thirty feet tall with a thick semi-transparent black body, almost seeming to be made entirely of shadows. It giant hands reached for the sky and then hung at its sides as it looked around. Stunned, the girls watched as the creature turned and faced them. Two solid red eyes burned as the creature focused them in its gaze.

"What is that?" asked Brianna.

"A physical manifestation of the energy absorbed by the orbs," Ulani mumbled.

"English please!" Alexis shouted as the creature reached out its hands to them and laughed.

"It's like all the other monsters, the energy inside the orbs gets out of control and forms a being made up of that energy force," Ulani repeated. The girls took to the sky as the creature slammed its fists into the sand where they had stood moments before.

"You can't run forever," the being grumbled.

"For the record, we're _flying_," Alexis smiled. She launched a fireball at the creature's body and watched as it seemed to have no effect.

"It can talk?" asked Rachel. The girls hovered in a tight group, just out of reach of the creature's grabbing arms.

"I already have pieces of your powers," the being said, its voice as deep as thunder. The creature lifted both of its shadowy arms, revealing the orbs in its body and limbs. Each orb sparkled as he mentioned their power. "Fire," the red orb flared up just above where the water came to on the creature's body. The orb sunk into the water as the monster moved deeper into the bay. "Air," the orb shimmered a story above where the previous one was located. It was slightly off center, a little more to the left then the centerline. "Earth– and Water," the two orbs light up, one in each arm where the being's shoulders should have been.

"And Quintessence," Brianna smiled. The orb she had found glittered with energy above the air one. It was located in the creature's thick neck. The monster reached out its arm, trying to snatch the girls out of the air. They fought back, hurling their elements at the shadowy creature. Barrages of fireballs hit their mark but left no indent. Streams of water and flying sand seemed to have the same effect. Lightning bolts and strong wind gusts passed through the being as if it was an illusion.

"Brianna!" Rachel called, "what do we do? Nothing is working!" The being eyed them with its crimson red eyes and smiled a mocking smile at them. As the girls conversed, Mr. Brigson pulled out a cell phone. The phone sparked with the coursing energy in the air, and Mr. Brigson dropped it. The incoming tide washed over it, sending the sparking circuitry sizzling and to an early grave. The dark being reached out and grabbed at a distracted Mr. Brigson, it wrapped a clawed hand around his small body. Brianna noticed his dilemma and pointed it out to the other girls as she blasted an energy bolt at the creature's hand. The bolt veered off course and headed towards the creature's hand where it clutched the man. The girls watched as the energy passed through the shadowy hand until it was only a foot or two from Mr. Brigson. Suddenly the lightning stopped and hit something. The creature growled and whipped its hand back and forth to try and stop the pain, throwing the man from its clutches. He skimmed across the water and back into the cave, but the girls were too busy to notice.

"Did you see what happened?" Brianna questioned them amazed.

"The lightning didn't affect this monster until it hit the area touching the object that it was holding," Jaden answered.

"That makes sense," Ulani nodded, "the whole thing can't be _intangible_ if it's going to suspend something _tangible_. You have to hit the sections just around the orbs to leave a mark and free them." The girls nodded and each instantly flew towards their own spheres.

Alexis hovered just above the waves, focusing on her glittering, red orb just beneath the surface of the water. Alexis aimed and sent a fireball at the orb. The water met the fire and vanished in a puff of smoke. The brunette looked up and searched for Rachel. She was busy trying to distract the creature enough to free her own orb. Alexis frowned and decided she was on her own. She swooped forward and dove underneath the rough waves. The water still carried hints of the winter cold; as she swam she felt the water seep into her shoes and clothing. Propelling herself through the water with her wings to aid her swimming she made it to the red orb. She reached out to it until her hands found the portion of the creature that was holding onto her sphere. She placed both of her hands around the section and pretended she was not underwater. Her hands would have sprouted massive flames, but instead the water was super heated and the water around the orb turned to bubbles as it boiled. She felt the creature loosen its grip on the orb and finally release it. Alexis pulled the red sphere free of the darkness and swam to the surface before she ran out of breath.

Rachel saw the water break below her and Alexis fly free of its grip. She pulled a stream of liquid from where she emerged and blasted the creature's right shoulder with it. The water slid through the dark body, except for the part where the blue orb sparkled in the moonlight. Wiping stray water drops from her face, Rachel blasted water at the orb again, hoping to numb the section that held it in place. She stopped and noticed that a great majority of the streams of liquid she sent towards the sphere never hit. Smiling she directed a narrower jet of water in the same direction. She pushed it faster then she could have done with the larger groups. It hit the section and the creature twitched its arm, swinging its claws at her to try and swat her out of the air. Taking her chance, Rachel swooped down and snatched the orb free from the creature. The portion holding it in place had all but faded away.

Jaden swooped over Rachel, carrying with her a large pile of sand from the beach. She called the dry sand up from under her and forced it forward in the same way Rachel had implemented to free her own orb. The creature seemed to have difficulty focusing on keeping all the orbs protected at once; after a few swipes, her sand drilled through the monster's skin protecting the yellow orb and it was dropped. Jaden dove down and caught it as it fell away from the darkness.

Avoiding knocking Jaden off balance as she darted downward, Ulani blew a gust of air towards the creature. Spiraling through the air to avoid being knocked into the water by the creature's arms, Ulani pulled with her the air currents and formed a small tornado headed straight at the spot the creature's heart would have been, if it had not been simply made of darkness, the location her orb glittered at. Brianna swooped down and got between her and the monster. The redhead blasted her own orb in the being's throat; the creature twitched slightly and the guardian of quintessence's orb was freed. It fell and crashed into the orb Ulani had discovered. The two spheres shared a sickening cracking sound and flew in separate directions, seemingly in one piece; each girl dove to catch her own.

Ulani caught herself from falling too far towards the water and flapped her wings upward towards the other girls. They had all just retrieved their own orbs and were hovering in the air, watching the monster. The being shuddered and swayed back and forth. It suddenly stabilized and turned its attention towards the glowing city across the bay. As it began moving, Ulani felt a pain as she flew. The orb in her arms glowed as bright as a star in the sky. She felt her eyes begin to cloud as she flew. The other girls felt it as well and landed on the shore. Ulani knelt on the ground and put the orb in the sand. Her vision suddenly cleared and she realized what was happening.

"Put the orbs down!" she ordered. The girls slowly complied and noticed the difference.

"What's happening?" asked Rachel, she watched as her orb dimmed and returned to its blue color.

"It was like my strength was being stolen," said Alexis.

"Exactly," Ulani said, "remember what Jaden said their purpose was?"

"But they had already chosen their sources," Brianna interjected, "wouldn't they have to have chosen people to take energy from us?"

"But we _are_ the elements," Ulani explained, "Water, Fire, Earth, Air, and Quintessence. The elements these orbs chose to absorb energy from are the same ones we embody. They can't see the difference."

"So what do we do now?" asked Jaden, "we can't hold onto them."

"Break them," suggested Rachel, "remember that red crystal that Brianna's mom had. When it was broken, the powers inside were freed. Maybe if we break these, they won't be able to absorb any more energy."

"It's worth a shot," smiled Alexis. She picked up her orb and threw it on the ground. The sand cushioned its fall and the orb escaped unscathed. "Ok, that doesn't work…"

"Try it on the sidewalk," Brianna offered. The girls threw the five spheres against the cement, but no cracks appeared. Ulani bent and examined the grey orb. A large crack was present along one part of the curved surface.

"Brianna," she called, "let me see yours." Brianna kicked her glass ball over to Ulani. The guardian of air smiled as she realized she was right. "Girls!" The four guardians turned to Ulani. Alexis' orb hit the ground and bounced away, she smiled and turned her attention over. "We need the orbs to hit each other in order to break." The girls looked at each other and then to the orbs they stood in front of. Brianna set hers in a crack on the cement to keep it from rolling away and stepped back. Rachel, Alexis, Jaden, and Ulani each picked up their orb and on Brianna's count, chucked them at the resting orb. The four flying spheres converged at the same moment and burst. Breaking glass sounded like a gunshot as the five orbs shattered. The girls threw their hands up in reaction to keep the shards from slicing at their faces. As the dust cleared, the only thing that remained was a fine crystal powder. The wind picked it up and soon all traces had vanished.

"Just three more," Brianna said, her face set with a determined smile. The girls flew over the water and began blasting the being with their elements, searching for the two remaining orbs, the smoky grey and the ice blue ones. The monster paused and shuddered, as if the girls' powers were taking a toll on its shadowy body. The darkness faded for a moment, revealing the two spheres the girls were searching for. They each worked off their own whims, blasting whichever one was closer at the moment. The monster laughed; the water in the bay rippled with the sound.

"While _your_ elements might have been easy, you'll have more difficulty removing these," the being mocked them, "they were formed from compounds, not simply those elements." Jaden paused and fluttered back to Brianna.

"We'll need to work together," Jaden explained. She turned to look for Alexis, "Alexis! Come here!" the guardian of fire swooped over.

"What do you know about compounds," Jaden asked, "you took chemistry last year too, what is a compound?"

"Two or more elements stuck together by some chemical process," Alexis recited, "wow, I can't believe I remember that…"

"Ok, so if in each of those orbs there are at least two elements we have to figure out what they absorbed to free them. It looks like only the element that it absorbed its energy from can free it," Jaden said as she hovered. Ulani and Rachel looked to each other and then at the being.

"Ice," Ulani offered, "that's water and air, and the orb on the left side of that thing is _ice_ blue.

"What about the other?" asked Rachel.

"Well, we have fire, earth, and electricity left," Brianna said, "what would those make?"

"Let's try fire and earth," Jaden suggested.

"All that makes is burnt earth," Alexis frowned.

"And smoke," Brianna smiled, "Ulani! Rachel! You two get the one on the left. Alexis and Jaden, get the other one."

"And _you_?" Alexis questioned. Brianna smiled.

"I'll be the distraction," she said. Brianna zoomed up and away from the girls, zipping around the monster's head like an annoying fly, getting its full attention. Alexis and Jaden flew towards the orb on the right while Ulani and Rachel moved to the left. Both teams began blasting their elements at the orbs, hoping to free them from the shadow creature's grasp.

Rachel sent a stream of water from the bay at the location the orb had glittered from. Waving her hand after the liquid, Ulani froze it solid and watched as the ice crashed into the orb. The being shuddered and lifted its massive arm to try and keep them from succeeding. Brianna noticed she had lost the creature's focus and darted in front of its head, sending bolts of energy at its face to reclaim its attention for herself. Jaden and Alexis had less luck in discovering the correct way to free the orb. Both earth and fire seemed to have no effect, while smoke had no ability to free anything without something solid in it. Alexis watched Ulani and Rachel work, and she thought of a way to attack with smoke as the weapon. She relayed the idea to Jaden; the blond smiled, pulled a few large clumps of sand from the shore to her, and compacted them into stone daggers with her powers. She threw them at the section of the shadow beast which held the orb. Alexis pointed at each one individually and set them all on fire, not missing a single flying dagger. The flaming stones hit their mark and the smoke worked its way down the earth pieces until it swirled around the orb. Brianna noticed each side was held in a similar stalemate and swooped down. She sent two bolts of lightning, one to the left and the second towards the right. They exploded from her hands, giving her little time to warn the girls.

"Duck!" she called. The bolts of energy exploded at their targets, ricocheting each sphere inward towards the creature's center. The girls watched as they collided and shattered. The creature roared and bellowed, the water vibrating and moving away from it as the tide finally came in. Regrouping out of range of anything that might come flying their way, the girls let out a collective sigh of relief. The creature seemed to shrink before their eyes as they watched. The water beneath it churned and rippled as the being struggled to keep its form.

"What's going on?" asked Rachel.

"It has no more energy to manifest itself in," Ulani said. A smile graced her face.

"So, we've won?" asked Alexis. The shadow seemed to implode under the moonlight, leaving nothing behind to account for the time spent that night.

"And the orb?" asked Brianna.

"Gone," Jaden said, mirroring Ulani's smile, "I hope." The five guardians flew back to the beach and landed on the cement steps that led to the tide drenched shore. Out of the corner of her eye, Alexis noticed a black vehicle parked along the road.

"So that's how he got here," she smiled. She walked over to the van, the girls following behind her, and blasted the doors open. She ignored Jaden's condescending remark and smiled as she picked up the files on the desk in the back.

"This should be fun," Alexis grinned. She threw out her hand and a flame roared to life, cradled within it.

"What are those?" asked Ulani.

"The papers on us," Alexis answered, she plucked hers out of the pile as she slid the file about the orbs to its doom, "Alexis, sophomore at Sheffield Institute. Failed sophomore year of school. Sent to The Military School of Upper Creek view for further observation on suspicious happenings and anger management. Blah, blah, blah." She crumpled the paper into a ball and dropped it into the fire. It burned away to nothing, the ash floating to the sky. The girls fed her more papers to burn, hoping to erase their records with the government and stay off their radar.

"What about that man?" asked Ulani.

"The monster grabbed him and threw him back into the cave," Jaden answered.

"But the tide's come in," Rachel said, "he's probably still in there."

"So," Alexis scowled, "serves him right."

"I'm going to get him," Rachel announced. She marched away towards the beach and strode through the water. Her boots were already soaked through; the water had no effect on slowing her down. The cave was nearly submerged; the last wave of water rolled in, a few bubbles of air escaping from the cave. Rachel took a deep breath and dove into the cold water. Swimming into the cave, she forced her eyes open and searched. The light failed to reach the back of the cave and Rachel was left to using her hands to feel around. Once inside the threshold, she surfaced to the ever dwindling cavity of air inside the air. She waved aside the water and gasped for breath. While before the cavern had terrified her, the water seemed to ease her fears. A ray of light reflected from the water and alighted upon a still figure. Rachel saw where the light landed and brought her hand to her mouth in shock. Kicking her way through the water with renewed strength, Rachel reached out and grabbed the man who had tried to stop them before. Pulling him through the water, she felt his skin had begun to go cold already. She pushed the water away from their faces as she swam out of the cave, creating a small air bubble to breathe in. She swam to the shore where the other guardians were waiting for him. Rachel placed him in the front seat of his black van as Jaden looked for a pulse; Alexis hung back with Brianna, frowning.

"He'll be ok," Jaden assured Rachel. He stirred in his seat and mumbled an incoherent word or two.

"Can we go now?" asked Alexis, "I'm soaked and cold, let's get back to your house." Brianna told flight, leading the other girls back to Jaden's. They landed on the front porch and Brianna pulled out the Heart. They were untransformed in a flash of light.

"Let's hope there are no more issues we need to resolve around here," Brianna sighed.

"Yeah," agreed Jaden.

"I'm in no mood to have the government hunt me down," smiled Alexis, "I have a clean record now. Hey! They don't have the piece of paper that says I was enrolled at that crazy school anymore! I'm free!" Jaden pushed open the door, trying not to laugh at Alexis as she did and walked inside.

"So," asked a voice from the living room, "how'd it go? I couldn't see very well through the telescope on the roof, but it looked like it went well. " Brianna snapped her fingers and the hall lights blazed to life. There was only one lamp in the living room where the voice had originated from. Alexis smiled and shook her head slowly.

"I've got to give you points for persistency," she grinned, "but I think Jaden's-"

"What did you-?" Brianna hissed, she shook her head and skipped right to the point, "if you tell _anyone_, about _anything_ you saw, I will personally, electrocute you."

"Who would I relay what I saw to?" Jacob asked to no one in particular as he looked out the window. Jaden recalled him saying something similar to her before in her backyard. He stood and walked over to the where the girls were standing in a group. He looked at his hands and reached out to grab Jaden's, "the only person who I would ever tell, is standing right here, and she's a part of it." Jaden smiled shyly and closed her emerald eyes. She felt Jacob give her a delicate kiss, and she blushed bright red.

"Goodnight," he smiled, as he released her hand and walked out the doorway.

"Goodnight," Jaden replied before the door closed. She touched her lips and turned to the other girls.

"I knew it!" Alexis shouted, "I was right about it all along!"

"Shut up Alexis," Jaden smiled playfully.

* * *

-Have you reviewed this story today?-

Wow, the end- that was a long chapter… Forgive my bad chemistry sense, I wrote it and realized that water and air (kinda) already are compounds, fire is a chemical means to change something, and- earth is well, dirt... and my bad attempt to add some romance. After I added Jacob, I realized that it was the Cornelia-Caleb syndrome… same first letter names and all… :D

But Finally! Sorry for the _long _time in the middle when I went on a break… ;) Thanks for everything reviewers, you kept me going! Tell me what you thought of the story, I really want to know everything! Reviews are the best things to find in my inbox! Ex. (what was your favorite scene / character / arc ), thanks in advance for all those new reviews (and thanks to everyone who has already given me great reviews). My next story will be announced on my account page when I think of it


End file.
